


What if ...? Episode 907

by CanuckleheadCowgirl, magnetocerebro



Series: 907 Universe [1]
Category: Avengers (Comics), X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: 907 Universe, Gen, General Fic, HISHE, Not a slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2018-10-15 10:44:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 39
Words: 136,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10555010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanuckleheadCowgirl/pseuds/CanuckleheadCowgirl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetocerebro/pseuds/magnetocerebro
Summary: What if ... Wolverine didn't stay with Department H until Charles Xavier found him? What if instead, he left before he'd added more stress to the Hudson's marriage? What if in the process, he found a young boy in need of someone to protect him? Welcome to my alternate universe here fore known as the 907.





	1. Avoiding Bad Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magnetocerebro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetocerebro/gifts).



The incident with the Hulk had been the last straw. Heather and James Hudson had been a Godsend, but Logan knew he wasn't doing them any good just hanging around the way he was. For one thing, he was pretty sure that whatever it was between himself and Heather was starting to drift away from 'friends'. And he didn't want to get in the middle any worse than he already had.

When he'd met the Hudsons, they had just gotten married - and instead of honeymooning like any other couple, they spent the duration - and most of the time since then - trying to make him into more than what he thought he was.

They'd done better by him than he thought he deserved … and far better than anyone he could remember - not that the list was long there either. But Logan's memory never really was his best attribute.

Recently, Logan had been battered worse from that big green bastard than anything that he could remember - short of the metal fusing to his skeleton, of course.

But he didn't want to think about that. Thinking about that just made him hurt all over. It seemed to start as a migraine and just … he wasn't going to think about that if he could help it.

He was tired of waiting for Department H to point him at one massive disaster or another. The kind of missions they were sending him on were getting increasingly more and more disturbing and he couldn't shake the feeling that they were trying to test his boundaries. To make matters more interesting, it seemed that Department H knew they were losing his focus.

They even went so far was to offer him the leadership position on what they said was Canada's answer to the Avengers. But outside of not liking how things were going - he really didn't think he had what it took to head them up. A memory-less near animal? No. That wasn't a decent leadership option. That was an obvious baited trap.

Department H had not taken his resignation well. At all. And since he'd left, they had sent several teams out to try and bring him in, but he just wasn't going to let that happen. What had surprised Logan was how quickly the Hudsons had encouraged him to get moving - Mac even went so far as to empty out his wallet and give him all the cash he had on him while Heather encouraged him to empty out his accounts and just _go._

So even _they_ knew things weren't kosher with the Department.

All that was over a year ago and he still had nothing real to show for his troubles. Well, nothing more than a beat up old motorcycle that leaked oil badly enough that he had to top it off every time he stopped for gas.

He had enough to keep himself going. And he stopped his traveling and would work when he needed more money. That or Heather seemed to make sure that the card she'd sent him off with had a balance on it … just in case.

* * *

Logan had been riding hard for over a week, still with zip for ideas on where the heck he was headed when he pulled into the little diner on the north side of Omaha. He'd just sat back and scrubbed his hand over his face as the waitress poured up his third cup of coffee. He was trying to will himself into picking a damn destination when a scent hit him that had the hair on the back of his neck standing up.

Cautiously he looked up without picking up his head to see if he recognized the source.

Aside from the waitress and the cook, there was an old man in a booth alone … a young couple that looked like they were splitting a meal and a milk shake … a booth full of workmen … and a tall dark haired guy that he was _sure_ he'd never seen before.

But as the man passed him by on his way to the counter, it was clear that he was indeed the source of the scent that had him concentrating hard not to growl outright. Just like that, his heart ticked up a notch and he found himself nervous.

Logan tried to force himself to relax. If this guy was as dangerous as he _felt_ … there was no reason to draw attention. _No. That's … I've taken on the flamin' Hulk,_ he reminded himself. _What the hell could this pencil-pushin' geek do?_ He pointedly pushed down the irrational reaction and went back to his coffee.

But the longer he smelled that scent … the more irritated he got. This guy wasn't in the group at Weapon X. He also didn't have anything to do with Department H .. or at least. He didn't smell familiar in that right.

"Mr. Pearson," the waitress said with a fond smile. "Nice to see you getting some fresh air before dark. It's got to be so hard to get a moment to yourself cooped up in that orphanage all the time."

A little electrical jolt ran down Logan's spine as the waitress and this … Pearson continued their familiar conversation consisting of nothing but small talk about the goings on around town and at this orphanage where the man worked. But the name wasn't ringing any bells.

And it didn't feel right. Something about this guy just set wrong with Logan. Frustration with no solid source rose up in his chest - irritating him far worse than the irrational fear.

When the waitress made her rounds, Logan was surprised to find himself suddenly careful not to speak, though he had been his usual self, almost flirting with the pretty little blonde before Pearson walked in.

He wasn't bothered enough to feel compelled to leave, though and instead, he just kept drinking his coffee, listening in, and waiting for the doctor to finish up and leave first. Thank God he had a newspaper to pretend to read.

It wasn't too terribly long before the guy got up to go, and when he did, Logan was relieved for it. He _should_ have just gotten on his bike and headed out. He _should_ have not listened to how the locals talked about the enigmatic looking doctor that ran 'The State Home for Foundlings'.

The name made him cringe. It was too formal. It didn't fit the town. It sounded too ...old. ALmost from a different time altogether. And that ...that … just didn't sound like an orphanage to him. He let a few minutes pass before he decided to check the guy out.

One thing he was grateful for with his mutation was the fact that it allowed him the luxury of being able to wait to follow someone. He didn't _need_ to be sneaky or look suspicious if he didn't want to. And in a strange town with at least one strange character … why would he?

The walk wasn't too long, and when the orphanage came into view, the first thing he noticed was the miserable appearance of the children outside in the middle of a sweltering Nebraska day. The kids gathered on the sorry excuse for a playground parted like the Red Sea as Pearson approached, all of them looked pale and kept their gazes to the ground. All of them but one boy, who just seemed to be studying the administrator as much as he was doing to the boys.

A low growl rose up in the back of his throat and he decided to get a closer look. He had no idea why, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let this creep wander around kids without knowing _why_ he bothered him so much.

That was the plan anyhow. To watch and wait.

But as soon as the dark haired man disappeared into one of the buildings, the atmosphere on the playground shifted to one more appropriate for boys of that age. At least … it was more familiar than the strict fear response that Logan had just seen moments before.

He lit up a cigar and took a seat on a park bench across from the orphanage, in the shade of the trees and not facing the kids, instead watching out of the corner of his eyes as the biggest and clearly meanest of the boys started picking on one of the smaller ones.

Logan snubbed out his cigar and got up to see what he could about getting into the place. The kids fighting would just make for a good distraction for anyone that should be 'official.'

He slipped around to the far side of the building, and as luck would have it, the playground fight broke out in earnest as he found where he'd like to slip in. Wouldn't be hard. Just slip a claw through the crack in the door and shear off the mechanism holding it shut. He waited to hear the rush of adults leaving the building before he slipped inside and started following that scent.

He pressed himself into a recessed area by a door as he heard a few more kids rushing by … and stiffened entirely when the scent intensified and passed him by - though this time, it wasn't coming from Pearson. It was coming off a kid.

He shook his head then shifted to watching, stalking closer to see what was happening. For the first time ever, he found himself questioning his own abilities. But again, the growl was rising up in the back of his throat and he found himself swallowing hard to stifle it as he stalked the oddly scented 'boy'.

From around a corner, he saw the kid that stunk like antiseptic, blood, and English tea - a winning combination for any doctor, but for a kid?

_That's not right,_ Logan thought to himself as he watched the the strange boy talking to a scrawny brown haired boy. _It's just not possible._

He found himself slipping into what he assumed was an office of some sort as a kind looking woman in a lab coat broke up the group of kids. He locked the door and just leaned against the wall away from the threat of anyone walking in, breathing heavily as the confusion and panic at everything he was trying to process hit him.

But he couldn't ignore the conversation that the antiseptic boy was having just outside the door. Logan of course had no idea who the boys were talking about - though it sounded like the kid in question was the one that had been bullying outside. 'Nate' was pushing his friend to skip the nurses' station … and help him go after the older boy. But it was pretty obvious 'Scott' wasn't buying it.

"I'll see you later, Nate," Scott said as someone led him down the hall, the sounds of sneakers on tile echoed the hallway alongside the click of high heels. _The adults are breaking it up,_ Logan thought.

He listened as Nate let out a sound of irritation and headed across the hall from where he was hiding. The sound of a door opening and closing was plain. Logan let out a centering breath, ready to get out of the strange place, when he heard the boy's footsteps suddenly sound a lot louder. Heavier. He waited for the sound to retreat before he cracked the door open and took a peek. Pearson. Not the boy. What's more, when he crossed the hall to where Nate had disappeared, the room was empty and only the tainted antiseptic scent remained.

For a moment, Logan just took in the sounds and scents in the building as he frowned at the empty room. When he was sure no one was going to run into him, he started after the scent. He made it two hallways over before the scent concentrated in an odd spot with no visible door. With a frown, he found himself unable to keep following - though if he had _time_ he'd be able to find what had to be a hidden trigger or latch.

But … as the sounds of approaching, joking boys began to echo the halls, it was clear that now was not the time. He rushed out of the building via a nearby window with a plan to come back after dark and investigate further.

He didn't want to, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get it out of his head if he ignored it.


	2. Step One- Rescue the Kid

When Logan got back to his bike from his mini stakeout, he kept his eyes on the horizon line as he kick started it and headed off to find a place to spend the night. As usual, when he got to a hotel as opposed to just sleeping under the stars, he took a few moments before he picked up the phone and called to check in with Heather and Mac.

It had been over a month since he'd bothered, and even if she missed the call, he had to make the effort. But he was pleasantly surprised when she picked up - even if she did ream him out for taking so long to check in.

"Yeah, I know, Heather," he said wearily with a little smile. As much as he didn't like getting her worked up, it was nice to know she gave a damn. "I've been travelling. Everything's fine."

He leaned back and listened as she filled him in on all that had been going on at work … Mac's promotion was a big one. Department H had decided that he'd be perfect to head up their new team as long as he had his flight suit operational, which was proving to be more problematic than Mac liked. But as she talked, he found himself staring out the window and thinking about all that he'd seen in Omaha. "Hey, I got a question for you," he said, sitting up again. "You've been in the department a long time…"

" _Yeah, almost as long as it's been around,"_ Heather agreed.

"Then you'd be able to tell me if there was ever a higher up there by the name of Pearson, right?"

There was a very short pause as she thought it over. " _Pearson? No. That … doesn't sound familiar at all_ ," she said. " _Why? Did you find someone from Department H that far south? Are they still following you?_ "

"Probably," he admitted with a little chuckle. "But that's not what got me asking. It's just … this guy doesn't _smell_ right." He'd said the last bit slower, as if he knew she'd think he was crazy, and to add a little anxiety to his day, she did pause for a long while before she finally answered him.

" _You know, that could be from a time before Department H too, Logan,"_ she said slowly. " _I can't find any records, but you couldn't possibly have just … materialized._ "

"Just wish I could make the connection. Remember it," Logan said - the same song and dance as always before he just let the sentiment fall. He could almost see Heather's expression, just as frustrated as he was and wishing for a different outcome.

" _You know we'll figure it out somehow,"_ she said soothingly. " _But until we do ... "_

"I know. Keep myself out of trouble and try to stay under the radar. I'll do what I can," he promised before he found himself assuring her that he'd check in sooner next time.

By the time he'd hung up with Heather and grabbed a bite to eat, it was just past sunset and with no moon out, it promised to be good and dark. Just the way he liked it.

* * *

By the time Logan got back to the 'Home for Foundlings', all the lights in the place were out. He found his way inside and with a little sniffing around easily found the trigger to the hidden door - though being that close to that rancid antiseptic scent had him rubbing his nose with the back of his hand and huffing a bit to try and clear the scent out.

He took a moment, thinking he was bracing himself for whatever he found beyond the entrance and hidden in the dark halls before he silently stepped inside and began to navigate his way in the pitch black.

Once he got well down the hall, he could hear someone speaking in a tone that sounded familiar somehow, though when he focused on it, all it brought him was a headache. The more the man talked, the more Logan was ready to just slice him to ribbons. It wasn't exactly a foreign feeling, but it was one that made it worlds harder to stow the growl.

He crept closer, and his heart nearly stopped in his chest when he saw the medical set up the man had. Stainless steel and white tile everywhere - bright lights hovering over a stainless steel exam table upon which there was a kid - no older than fifteen, terrified and immobilized as the monster lurked over him.

Logan didn't even realize what he was doing until he was already in motion. He didn't say a word as he stepped into the lab and just headed for the guy. That same uneasy feeling was there when he saw the doctor, and the closer he got, the more strong that sensation became. But he had not time to process it. Not when there was a _kid_ this creep was working over. Furthermore, it wasn't even like there were any _other_ scents in the lab. Just the antiseptic creep and the one boy, who's scent really just … didn't fit with the creepy doc. He smelled too clean - though the overall funk of the orphanage overpowered whoever he really was.

Logan drew back a fist to cream the tall, doctor when he realized that Logan was even there. "Logan!" he said with a surprised - but delighted tone, which had to be the _only_ thing he could have done to get Logan to stop mid swing. " _How_ is it that you're still alive?"

And _that_ … That was enough to get Logan in gear again.

He darted forward, still not speaking as he made his attack, and though the doctor was smiling to start with, the second Logan's metal laced fist made contact, the laughing stopped.

The guy Logan was pounding - he smelled like Pearson and Nate with the antiseptic-blood-death-tea combo- but looked like neither, and still it wasn't a face that tripped anything for Logan's memory. He reeled backward as Logan kept pushing forward, pounding on him harder until the man let out a little laugh.

They'd moved out of the circle of light that was illuminating the center of the room, and the boy on the table was starting to call for help, struggling against the restraints. "You don't know who you are," the doctor said with a delighted grin, which got Logan to pause a moment once again. "I can help you with that, if you stop acting like a low beast for five minutes." He seemed positively delighted at the prospect, as if he could see that it was exactly what Logan wanted to know.

Logan just stood there, trying to get his bearings as he approached. "You don't remember me at all," the man said, stepping closer, towering over him. He was in pain, but wasn't ready to give in to it yet. "That's a shame. I was going to help you to make it all _not_ hurt. But you turned down my offer." He paused again and gave his closest approximation of a kind look. "My offer still stands. I can make the pain disappear forever."

By that time, Logan had relaxed a bit, though he couldn't explain the why. His fists had drifted down, nearly to his sides. It felt familiar. The tall man rested one hand on Logan's shoulder and Logan just looked up at him. "Who are you?" Logan asked, not expecting a straight answer in the least, but he knew that neither Pearson nor Nate was the right name either.

"You met me when I was known as Dr. Essex," he replied and as the man squeezed his shoulder, a flash of something crossed Logan's mind. Not quite a memory, more a feeling. One of loss and abandonment. Poisoned with lies and pain. He closed his eyes and shook his head a bit as Essex smiled wider and before another word was spoken, Logan popped his claws and buried them into Essex's chest.

The tall, pale man went to his knees as Logan stepped back. He was gasping for air, making pained noises and in general not looking as smug as he had been moments before. But there wasn't any time to weigh out what to do when he heard the boy again, obviously scared.

Logan looked down at his hands and quickly cleaned himself up as much as he was able before he got to the kid. "You okay?" Logan asked, frustrated already when he couldn't find the mechanism to release the kid right away. "I'm gonna get you outta here. Try to relax for just a minute. I won't hurt you." He told him as he ducked down to look at the back side of the table - finally finding the release lever. When the kid was freed, Logan helped him to sit up, not expecting the boy to stick to him so close - so fast as he grabbed on to Logan with both arms and openly panicked for a moment. Logan startled the slightest and rested one hand on the boy's back before he tipped his head to the door. "Let's get outta here. Just in case this creep decides to recover too fast."

The boy was shaken, with tear streaks down his face, but he just nodded and followed Logan out of the lab and soon after, the building.

"You alright?" Logan asked him when they got away from the building and off the grounds. "Orphan or no, that shouldn't be happening to you. Guy was ... something else."

"I'm fine," the boy said, unused to being addressed as something more than just a kid to be ordered around. An equal. He was even more surprised when Logan just nodded and let out a sigh, taking his word at face value.

"You got anyone?"

"No. Not anymore."

Logan stopped walking and turned to look the kid over as he scrubbed one hand over his face, chiding himself for asking such a stupid question. Obviously he hadn't thought this through. "Figured as much, but still had to ask. I'm headed east," Logan told him. "I don't want to leave you with that nutjob, but it's up to you if you want to go with me or not."

The kid didn't hesitate. "I'll go," he said quickly. "If … that's alright."

Logan just nodded and went back to walking. "Then I wanna get outta here," he said. "Put some miles between us and that place." It only took them a few minutes to get back to Logan's hotel - where he grabbed his bag and tossed him his leather jacket. "Hope you don't mind motorcycles."

The kid looked a little overwhelmed, but put the too big jacket on anyhow.

"What's your name?" Logan asked as he finished shoving the last of his stuff into the bag.

"Scott Summers," he replied, looking down at the leather.

"I'm -"

"Logan. I heard," Scott said. "How did you know that guy?"

"I have no idea," Logan replied, not even bothering to hide the confused look on his face. "Doesn't matter though. Everything about him just rubbed me the wrong way. Not to mention whatever the hell he was doing in that basement to you." Scott's face went a bit pale as he lifted one hand to the back of his neck self consciously.

Logan slipped the duffel bag over his shoulder and tipped his head toward the door. "Only Harley out there," he told him, and when they got to the bike, Scott frowned at the little drip of oil underneath it.

"I'll bet I can fix that," Scott said, pointing to the oil on the asphalt.

Logan looked to where he was pointing and just shrugged. "You're welcome to try when we find somewhere to stop, but if you figure that out, you could probably make a mint in Milwaukee. These damn things have been leaking like that since the forties." A ghost of a smirk lit up Scott's face and he nodded to himself.

When Logan sat on the bike, it dipped down enough that Scott looked a bit surprised before he climbed on. He'd seen a lot bigger guys on bikes just like this one not moving them that much. The motorcycle roared to life, and a few moments later, the two of them headed out - open highway and headed almost due east.


	3. New Guardian

By dawn, the two travelers had burned through a tank of gas and put a couple hundred miles behind them, though Logan had been sure to stick to the back roads and off of the freeways. More important than the distance was the fact that the kid had started to relax a little bit. Whatever had been nagging at him in that place was long in the rear view by the time they stopped for a bite to eat and to regroup.

The buzz of having traveled a great deal in a short amount of time was disorienting as they took a seat in some greasy spoon diner near Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The waitress came over and Logan gave her a little smile as he ordered his coffee and took the menu. "Get what you like," he told Scott. "I've got you covered." Logan opened up the local paper ready to do his usual litmus test of how tolerant the area was toward mutants. If it wasn't good, they'd head right out after they ate.

Scott frowned at the headline on the paper Logan was reading as he looked at the menu. _More_ headlines on Mutant Registration. How dangerous these people were … how uncontrollable their abilities were, and Scott had to wonder about it. He didn't think he'd known any mutants to be able to judge properly. But if the paper was anywhere close to right, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

After the two of them had gotten through breakfast, Logan was just drinking his coffee and leaning back, being sure to not watch Scott outright, though he knew the kid had to be sore from riding on the back of the bike for that long on his first trip. They needed to get moving, but he didn't want to push the kid.

Logan let out a breath and tipped back his mug. "You don't look much like a troublemaker to me," Logan said easily.

"I'm not," Scott said quickly.

"Then why …"

"I'm a brain case," Scott explained with an almost bitter tone. "That's why they couldn't get me adopted. There's something majorly wrong with me."

"Bull," Logan replied as he pulled out his wallet to take care of their tab. "I don't buy that for a second. There's not a damn thing wrong with you."

"That's what the doctors said though," Scott replied, obviously frustrated. "I was in a coma for almost a year."

"And now you're not. You healed. You can walk and talk and all that crap. Seem fine to me," Logan said as he got to his feet. "You ready to go?"

Scott looked a little surprised for just a second before a little smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Sure," he said, following quickly.

"Let me know if you need a break on the road, alright?" Logan said. "I know it's not easy to get used to travelling this way."

Scott just nodded and before Logan started the bike up, and then paused. "North, East, or South? I don't have an end destination in mind and it doesn't make one difference to me which way we go."

Scott paused and rested his hand on the back of his neck for just a moment before he shrugged lightly. "Um … North I guess," he said, earning a little smirk and a nod from his new default guardian.

"Perfect. North it is," Logan agreed, though he missed the little smile Scott had as he turned the bike down a different road and opened it up.

* * *

It was quickly apparent that Scott was not up to long term travel on the Harley. From Iowa, the two of them headed north into Wisconsin, but they hadn't gotten too far before a summer storm came in and the two of them found themselves finding shelter to save themselves from the weather.

It was impossible to travel by bike and not get soaked at _best_ \- or hit by some idiot that couldn't see them at worst. And although Logan would normally risk it, he sure as hell wasn't going to do so with Scott along for the ride.

They stopped in a small town, but there was only so much that they could do in the diner. When it was clear that the rain wasn't letting up anytime soon, Logan led the way down the street a couple blocks and got a room before he handed Scott a few bills and sent him off to buy himself some clothes. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere without you, I just have to make a phone call, figured I'd do it while you were out."

"Calling home?" Scott asked, though he didn't look convinced that Logan wasn't going to ditch him.

"Something like that," Logan agreed with a little smile that didn't quite fit their situation or the subject matter.

Scott smirked for just a moment and nodded to himself. "Thanks," Scott said, as he looked to the cash in his hand, but he still hesitated at the door for a moment.

"Used to bein' ditched, eh?" Logan said, unsurprised in the least when the kid hesitantly nodded his head. "That's just not gonna happen," Logan assured him before he crossed the room and handed him a key fob. "That's the only key to the bike. Take it with you. Don't lose it. Oughta ease your mind that I'm not leavin."

"You don't have to do that - I didn't mean -"

"It's fine. I'm not usin' it anyhow. Go on now, let me make my call. Chances are good she'll still be talking to me when you get back." He waited a moment after the boy left to sit down to make the call. There was plenty to be said, and plenty of favors he was going to have to ask Heather for. He just wasn't real excited about the twenty questions that was sure to come with it.

As expected, Heather gave him a solid five minutes of picking before he could even begin to get down to the nitty gritty and give her the rundown of what had happened so far … and then to take it a step further and start asking her to look into the kid.

"I have no idea where he's from," Logan said. "But they had him convinced he was defective. Seems like a good kid, to be honest. Just … considering all that I say, he just needed to get out of there."

" _I can look, you know I can. And I'll dig up whatever can be found on his family, if there is any,"_ Heather replied. " _But are you sure you want to take this kid on the run? Someone has to be looking for him._ "

"I'll risk it," Logan replied flatly. "You didn't see the creep that had him tied up in the basement."

" _That doesn't … that's not what orphanages do, Logan."_

"Not in this century, no," he agreed. "Which is why I got him outta there."

" _You could be held with kidnapping charges if there's anyone looking._ "

"I'd have to get caught, and he already said he'd claim to be a runaway."

" _So … the story is that you picked up a hitchhiker?"_ Heather asked doubtfully. " _That's … kind of … well that might just work."_

"Just find out what you can, I'll call again in a week or so," Logan promised.

" _Where are you?"_ Heather asked, sounding a little anxious.

"You know damn well I'm not going to say that on the phone," he replied. "And I'm sure if the Department was looking for me, they'd have a trace on your phone already."

" _I doubt they're looking,"_ she said dismissively. " _I just wanted to know where you were so I could send you something."_

"Not settled in that much," he told her. As predicted, Scott came in quietly and Logan just gave him a little wave to get comfortable as Heather continued her questions. Logan was scrubbing his hand over his face as she asked him for the third time to please, tell her where he was.

"Compared to you? I'm south," Logan finally said. "And probably west. Or not. Been a long ride."

" _Don't you try to act like you don't know your way around a map,_ " she laughed. " _I know better, mister._ "

"Then just stick to south- more or less," he answered with a little smirk. "But - if it really looks like the Department is backing off, maybe I'll head your way. Not … the house, of course."

" _Oh, of course not, that might make it easy,_ " she countered.

"Talk to you soon, Heather," he promised before he hung up and just leaned back. "More rain comin' overnight. Looks like we're stuck for now."

Scott made his way over to the other bed in the room and tried to gauge what the plan was - even though Logan had made it pretty clear there was no plan. He tossed the key fob back to Logan with a self conscious little shrug. "I don't need to hold your key," he said. "Thanks though."

Logan just nodded as the rain intensified outside. "We'll probably need to find a spot to lay low for a while," he told him. "Unless you want to keep moving, but I've been travelling non stop for a while. Could use a little break." He watched the boy carefully, to see if he was quick enough to catch the lie.

The fact was, Logan was perfectly content to keep going, but it was obvious that the kid was already sore from around five hundred miles on a motorcycle. It really wasn't something that most people would sign up for and Scott certainly hadn't asked for it.

"Might give Heather a chance to send me what she wanted, too," Logan added when Scott looked hesitant to answer.

"Is she a doctor or something?" Scott asked, obviously half afraid of the answer.

"God no," Logan answered with a derisive little laugh. "If she was I doubt I could talk to her. No. She's … she's a good friend." Logan looked down to his hands and frowned at them, knowing that wasn't exactly right either.

"Then why don't you want to tell her where you are?" Scott asked, pulling his feet up to sit cross-legged on his bed.

"It's complicated." Logan's tone was decidedly down as he picked up the paper and started to go through it. He needed to find something to change the subject … he just didn't have clue one as to what that was. At least - until he got halfway through the first section of his paper. "There's a big airshow next week in Oshkosh," Logan said. "Lots of WWII warbirds. I'll bet a fella I know'll be there. We could swing up that way and see if he's up for givin' us a lift."

Scott looked excited at the prospect, smiling a little already at the thought of the aircraft. "Really? I haven't been to an airshow since … well. It's been a long time.

Logan just watched him for a moment and finally just nodded his head. "We'll just go see Harry and see what he's got to say. You might want to take a look at an _old_ bird."

"What does he fly?" Scott asked, brightening up considerably.

"Well if you like warbirds," Logan said with a smirk, and grateful for the change in subject. "Ol' Harry has a Dakota military transport from the '40's. Stateside they were called -"

"A C-47 Skytrain?" Scott asked, wide eyed. "I've never seen one up close."

Logan just watched the kid for a minute. "That's right," he said. "You know your aircraft."

"Dad was a pilot," Scott said with a sparkle in his eyes. "He flew Phantoms and Blackbirds."

"Fighter and a bomber," Logan said, nodding seriously. "Gotta be damn good to get into a Blackbird."

Scott just nodded proudly as he began to talk about his dad - using more flight jargon that Logan had heard outside of the service, and certainly a lot more than a kid his age should know. "I think you an' Harry'll get along just fine for an afternoon," Logan said with a nod before he picked up the phone again to check that Harry was going to be where he thought and then to call Heather back again with the update.

"Heather, if you got something you need to send my way, just hand it off to Harry," Logan told her. "He's got an airshow next week and I plan on meetin' him there."

" _Still stateside?"_ Heather asked. " _For how long?"_

"Haven't decided yet," Logan replied.

" _Alright, I'll … get in touch with him. I'll have your files too,"_ she promised. " _But don't think that Harry will be considered enough of a check in. I want to talk to you. And meet your new friend if he's going to stick around."_

"That'll be up to him," Logan said, glancing toward Scott, who was listening intently. "Thanks again, Heather."


	4. International Fly-In

From Logan and Scott's rented cabin they watched as aircraft gathered day by day for the airshow. It was massive and the young man was wide eyed more and more every day as various military aircraft and experimental planes flew overhead, gathering for the show.

To Logan's amusement, the kid was picking out many of them as they flew past, excited for most of the warbirds. But Scott was impressed when the day before they were set to go, Logan tipped his head to the side for a moment and just smirked. "Look to the north west," he said, tipping his chin that way. "You should see the Dakota coming in soon."

Scott shook his head to start with but did exactly that, watching the skies - straining to see it. "I think you're hearing things," Scott said, turning his way for a moment. "And besides there's no way you could …"

Just then the sound of an old two prop plane reached Scott's ears and his eyes widened as he turned to see the silver fuselage in the distance. "Give him the night to settle in," Logan said. "Chances are he was just finishing up a guide run up north before he left. We'll catch him before the big rush happens."

Scott could hardly sleep the night before the airshow. And he was up bright and early and raring to go, which had Logan shaking his head at the kids' enthusiasm- particularly when Scott all but wolfed down breakfast and was bouncing his foot waiting for Logan to get done with his coffee.

Even for as early in the day as it was, Scott was amazed as he watched the planes circling the airport overhead. As far as he could see, he was spotting a glimmer of glass or a flash of paint all around them. The two of them paid at the gate and as soon as they were past it - there were airplanes as far as the eye could see of all different kinds. Scott just stood there to take it in for a moment until Logan stopped a short distance ahead of him and turned to wait for him.

"You want to go straight to the warbirds?"

"Please!" Scott said with a broad grin as he rushed ahead, following Logan's pointed directions every time they hit a cross road. As they hit the Warbirds section, Scott just had to stop as the first plane nearest the road was a P-51 Mustang, shimmering silver in the warm morning light. He was grinning widely as they made their way much slower through the collection of old military crafts.

Scott was in love. Each and every one of the planes out on the grass was operational and flight worthy - and just _knowing_ that they were threre - ready to go was just … he couldn't stop smiling.

A pocket of WWII planes gave way to a small section of Vietnam era craft and it wasn't too far beyond the fighters that they finally spotted the small collection of bombers. Before Scott could really take them in though, someone called out to them.

"Logan! Taking in the sights are you? Feeling nostalgic?" A tall native american man with long hair asked with a grin before he waved them over. "Come on, I got something for you in the Dakota!"

Logan waved back at him and turned to Scott. "You ready to check out the cockpit?"

Scott was beaming and almost bouncing in place as the two of them made their way over to Harry. When they reached him, Harry barely looked Scott's way before he ruffled his hair and stepped back so the kid could investigate.

While Logan and Harry chatted under the wing, Scott climbed in and made his way up to the cockpit, grinning broadly at the old instrument panel. Everything was pristine, impeccably cared for - the paint even looked new. He cautiously ran his finger over the altimeter and the artificial horizon then sat down in the pilot's seat. He reached up and took the yoke in his hands and just grinned.

Of course, he couldn't reach the pedals that controlled the rudder - though he could see the wear on them from where Harry's tall 6'1" frame operated the whole she-bang.

"So I hear you want to be my new copilot, eh?" Harry said as he smiled down at Scott and took a seat next to him in the copilot chair. "You know what all these things are for?"

Scott just grinned up and halfway nodded, though Harry burst out laughing at that. "No, I get it," Harry said. "You wanna do it yourself. I don't blame you." He started to run down the instrument panel with him, telling him what everything was that Scott didn't already know - though the list was pretty short.

In the meantime, Logan had of course,found his way into the plane as well, though he wasn't about to interrupt when both Harry and Scott looked like Christmas had come early. The shared passion for flying was palpable between them. Instead, he just hung back and watched them for a while before someone else made their presence known. He was sure she had tried to be sneaky, but she didn't make it into the body of the plane before Logan called her out. "You know - I knew you had to have come along," he said before he turned around, though the statement got both Scott and Harry to jump a little.

They turned in time to see Heather take a few quick steps and simply wrap Logan up in a tight hug, which he returned with a warm smile. "I figured if I didn't take my chance now, I'd be an old lady by the time you decided to come visit," Heather defended as she just held on tight. "It's not as much fun without you around, you know that? You wouldn't believe the grump Mac has going on."

"They putting pressure on him?" Logan asked, though Heather hadn't quite let go yet.

"Oh yeah. For all kinds of things. His new suit … they assigned him to that team you left behind … and of course, the pressure to ask where the heck you are. That is not very helpful to his attitude," Heather pointed out as she finally let him out of the hug - though she didn't take one arm from around his waist as she started to move him closer to the cockpit. "Lucky you, I did manage to bring what you asked for."

She finally stepped away, though Logan didn't miss the _look_ Harry was giving him while Heather had her back turned. "Here are the files you were asking for, but you're probably going to have to come up once I get the lenses made," she said. "I don't even know where to _find_ ruby quartz. I've never even _heard_ of the stuff."

Scott looked alarmed for a moment as Logan leaned against the fuselage of the plane and cracked open the file. "Are those all about me?" Scott asked quietly.

"Yes," Heather told him with a warm smile. "But there's nothing bad in there," she promised. "I just need to find the materials to have your glasses made. Have you had any headaches lately?"

"No," he answered quietly, though he looked suddenly very self conscious as he shrunk in on himself.

"Keep pestering and he will," Logan deadpanned, getting a little sound of irritation and a hit in the shoulder from Heather. But he was chuckling at her attack before he started to shake his head the further into the file he got. "This is old," he said, automatically handing what he'd finished to Scott without looking up. "And most of it was written up by that creep … No."

Logan was shaking his head as he moved through the file quicker. "No. Nope. _What an idiot_. Yeah...no. " He closed the file and handed the whole thing to Scott as he let out a disappointed sigh. "I'm not buyin' what he's sellin'. Sounds like crap. All of it."

"But the glasses …" Heather said, looking between Logan and Scott, wide eyed.

"Make 'em if he needs 'em," Logan said with a shrug. "But that's the only thing in there that I buy."

"That file is from doctors, Logan," Harry said, shaking his head. "That has to count for something, right?"

"And you know how wrong they can be," Logan countered before he crossed his arms and turned to Scott. "How much of that is true, do you think? And forget for a minute that it's an official file. Just consider the fact that the guy that wrote most of that was the creep that had you tied up."

Scott frowned as he read through the medical records. "But… they're official records, right? That means they're accurate. And … it was that Essex guy in the basement, _not_ Dr. Pearson," Scott said looking upset at all the notes on his brain injury.

Logan pursed his lips and glanced up at Heather, who was looking for answers. He shook his head discreetly and looked toward Scott before Heather spoke up and she very quickly realized that Scott had no idea that the men were one in the same.

"About that," Heather said gently. "I looked up that man's credentials - the one that runs that … that place. And he's not licensed anywhere. He's not legally authorized to write _anything_ in your files, Scott." She gave him a sympathetic look and rested her hand gently on his shoulder. "Legally - anything he put in that file is opinion. You really shouldn't take it to heart."

"But … the red lenses _do_ help with my headaches," Scott said. "He was right about that."

" _One thing_ doesn't make him an absolute expert," Heather replied with a defensive tone. "It's possible he's seen that before, that's all. But he certainly isn't an authority on _everything_ he had put in there."

Scott just seemed to think it over as he looked down at the papers. _So_ much of it was from Pearson, it was hard to decipher what was his and what was 'official'. He flipped back a few pages to the report from the hospital and just stared at it. "He didn't write this one," he said in a small voice, and all of the adults in the plane just shared a look for a moment.

"No, he didn't," Heather had to agree. "But …I have to admit, those were preliminary findings. Nothing like that is considered permanent without dozens of follow ups … which were never done. I could arrange to have you checked out if that's what you _want_ but really. I don't know that it's necessary." Logan had gotten a frown at that and walked to the tail of the plane, hands on his hips and … irritated with the reports.

"How long before you can get his glasses made?" Harry asked, his arms crossed. "This boy needs to start flying."

"No," Scott said quickly, shaking his head as he finally handed his file over to Heather as he watched Logan carefully. "No …There's no way I'd ever pass a physical. Those headaches, when they happen, it's like someone's trying to smash my head in from the inside. I couldn't risk that happening in the air. "

Heather and Harry just looked sympathetic, and it was clear that the mood of the plane was dropping.

"Bull," Logan replied, sounding stern all at once. "The rest of the report says that you're perfectly fine with everything that counts and the eye doc says you got a wider peripheral range than 90% of the population." Without any warning, Logan whipped an empty coke bottle Scott's way that had been in a box in the tail of the plane.

The young man gasped but caught it one handed, startled at Logan's move as the burly little man headed his way. "Your reflexes are quick. Your eyes are great. Get those glasses if you're worried, but I'd copilot for you any time," Logan told him. "Hell. You got better reflexes than Harry and that's sayin' something."

"Hey. He's what? Twelve? Some of us get old faster than others, _Logan_ ," Harry defended as he punched Logan's shoulder.

"I'm fourteen," Scott said with a touch of a sullen tone. "Not twelve."

"Lookit that," Logan said with a smirk Scott's way. "Two years out from getting your license. It'll be a breeze by the time Harry gets done teaching you."

"That's true," Harry agreed. "You'll probably know more than your testing instructor."

Scott seemed to perk up a bit at that, just before Heather stepped forward and leaned closer to Logan. "Can I have a word with you?" she asked quietly, though it was a tone that Scott had heard all too often. When Logan nodded and followed her to the rear of the plane, he couldn't help but think that this was the end of what had so far been just - a really good time.

He was already mentally preparing himself for the inevitable. No one wanted him around. If it wasn't one thing it was another, and this pretty redheaded woman was going to put an end to … whatever this was. His stomach flipped and his gaze was on his shoes.

"Hey, don't worry so much," Harry said carefully. "It's probably not you they're talking about anyhow."

"Sure they are," Scott said in a low, dejected tone. "No one wants me around once they know all that stuff." He was already getting worked up, and his distress was visible, leaving Harry with no idea on what to do with the boy.

"Logan you can't just … " Heather tried not to glance toward where Harry was keeping Scott company, but she was sure he was making such a huge mistake trying to take care of the boy. "You should take him to somewhere that can take care of him. Find him a family. He shouldn't be just … running around like a vagabond. Some of the things in those files are … questionable."

"Questionable how? Heather, he was in a state run home," Logan said in a low, serious tone. "Some creep had him …" He took a breath and just looked _angry_ for a moment. "It was too familiar, Heather. It wasn't that different from what ... " He stopped, his hands on his hips as he glared at the floor for a moment trying to find the right words.

She saw immediately where he was headed with it though and rested a hand on his arm. "Not like in your dreams," she said in a disbelieving tone, but when he nodded wordlessly, she let out a little 'oh'. "But … why?"

"I didn't ask _questions_ , I just got him out," Logan said before he met her gaze. "The guy doing … whatever. He knew my name, too."

At that Heather's eyebrows went up and all of her arguments simply fell flat.

"I don't know who this kid is or where he came from, but I'm not going to let anyone screw with him like that," Logan decided. "Now, if he doesn't want to stick around - if he'd rather stay with a real family …"

"With some of the things Department H is involved in, I don't think he should go with me," Heather said, her voice dropping low enough that she knew only Logan would hear her even if the other two had stood next to her. "There is some shady stuff going on, Logan. And I don't like it."

"We'll … find somewhere to go, or find out if he's got some distant relatives. Or somewhere he'd rather be," Logan said. "But it's got to be real people, Heather. No 'Home for Foundlings' or whatever other horse crap these people go by. An actual home with people that will know the consequences of screwing with the kid."

Heather shook her head. "Right. In the meantime, you're going to what - take him on yourself?"

"Unless he wants to go somewhere else, I think that's the only option. Unless you got a better idea?"

Heather looked toward Scott, who quickly averted his gaze. "You should come visit us at the cabin," she decided. "It's far enough away from Headquarters that no one should bother you there."

"I don't know that Mac would appreciate it," Logan said honestly.

"Mac … will be fine. He'll be happy to go fishing with the boy," she pointed out. "Nothing he likes better than teaching someone how to fish."

"I'll think about it," Logan said.

"You just don't want him asking you to come back," Heather said with an accusatory glare. "Even though you _would_ be good to head up that team."

"We've been over this," Logan started to say, but she cut him off before he could go any further.

"And you're still wrong."

He let out a tiny growl that had her smirking. "Did you find anything else on me?" he asked, and at that she looked a bit down.

"Yes and no," she said before she waved him over to her luggage and dug around to hand him a folder. "I found files, but most of the stuff in them is redacted."

Logan gave her a little look. "What makes you sure it's mine then?" he asked as he opened the folder, though the answer was just as frustrating on paper as it was in his own head.

The papers were dated well before he had met Heather and Mac, and very little was even there. His preferred name - though his actual name was blacked out, as was 90% of the page. He glanced up at her with a frown then shook his head as he flipped through page after page of the same. A few words here or there, but no full name. Medical records with little more than a notation of 'Logan' or a designation of 'X' - though that on it's own was particularly confusing since some of that seemed to refer to both him and the program he was apparently a part of.

"This … what the hell is this?" he finally asked. "Aside from just a lot of black ink …"

"I don't know," she admitted. "It's above my security clearance and Mac's. And you know beyond him it's just military brass - who are _never_ accommodating." She watched him as he looked through what little was in front of him. "How's the money holding up?"

"Fine," he said distractedly. "Even with the kid, I've got enough to take the rest of the summer off anyhow."

"And then what?" she asked, arms crossed.

"Then I'll either clean up at the pool tables, poker games, cage fights … grab a job if they're payin' good enough. The usual," he said.

"And for Scott's schooling?" She asked. Finally Logan looked up at her with an open look that showed how little he'd thought it through. "You need to let him go to school somewhere, Logan."

"Right," he replied, finally looking over at Scott and letting out a breath. "We got time to figure that out if he wants to stick around."

"Oh, I hope he does," Heather said before she bumped him with her shoulder. "I think he's good for you. I'm going to figure out how to give him an allowance too. A boy should have a little money of his own."

She walked past Logan over to where Harry had been engaging Scott, though as soon as Heather and Logan headed their way, Scott had inadvertently lost all interest in what Harry was saying, anxious about what was next. He locked his jaw and puffed out his chest a bit, waiting for the hit.

He was looking nervous, and his gaze kept flitting to the file in Logan's hand, before he finally had to ask. "What … what's that?"

Logan turned his way quickly and just stared at him for a moment before he frowned and handed him the file. "I read yours … go ahead, though it's not exactly equal. Maybe you can spot something I'm missing."

"Come on, mess with that stuff later," Harry said in a chiding tone. "We got an airshow to watch. Let's go watch it. The Blue Angels will be making a pass soon."

If nothing else, that at least got Scott's attention again, though he was wildly curious about the file. "You can go through that later, we're takin' it with us," Logan explained. "But we got some Navy jocks to watch right now, and I know Harry wants to brag on his time in Korea."

Scott gently set the folder down and let Harry rest his arm across his shoulders as he started telling war stories on the way to the airshow. Scott was entranced, and grinning as he started telling him what he knew about his father - and the few stories he'd told him and his brother when they were younger.

The two of them were animated and chatted like old friends, though the longer they talked, and the more stories Harry told, the more started to leak out about what kinds of missions they were - and where he was fighting - and the fact that Logan was a part of it for the most exciting, hair raising adventures, though Logan's contribution when asked about them were minimal, only to correct him from time to time on a small detail like what the weather was like on the ground or "No, the whole damn place smelled like kimchi, not sauerkraut. That's German, ya loon," Logan said, shaking his head. "Big difference."

When Scott told Harry that his father was in Vietnam, Harry reached over to tap Logan in the shoulder. "Hey. You irritated a bunch of pilots back then … whaddaya think?"

"He was in the Air Force," Scott said proudly.

But Logan shook his head. "I was working under the CIA for that war," he said, and Heather sat up a lot straighter.

"You were?"

Logan paused and frowned before he tipped his head slightly. "Yeah, I think so. Sounds right." He frowned as the show started in the distance, and watching the old fighters run through their maneuvers, Logan just nodded and started to very quietly start talking about some kind of a run deep into enemy lines with such detail that Harry and Heather both were just listening for a moment until Logan stopped short and just shook his head. "Doesn't really matter."

"Except," Heather said with a growing smile. "Maybe I can dig something up from that!"

Logan and Harry both gave her a dry look. "You really think you're going to have more luck with the CIA than with the governmental department you actually have access to?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The foreign government department whose entire job is all secrets?" Harry asked then let a beat pass before he just burst into laughter. " _Nice one,_ Heather."

"Is that why you asked Heather to get _your_ file?" Scott asked, his attention away from the slick, twisting aerial maneuvers that were going on over the lake. "Did you lose some memory too?" Scott was just watching Logan, his popcorn temporarily forgotten as clearly this was far more important than some navy birds twirling and flying in tight formation.

Logan glanced to Heather and Harry then just nodded his head. "Yeah, I lost … more than a little. That's part of it anyhow," Logan agreed.

To Logan's surprise, Scott actually seemed _encouraged_ by that and the boy just smiled the smallest bit and with a single nod turned his head to watch the Angels. "Then we can both figure it out."

Logan leaned back in the grass, propped up on his elbows. He watched Scott for a little while as the kid seemed to have gone entirely back to the airshow, uncaring that Logan knew so little about himself.

The four of them sat there just watching the planes - and as it was known to do, one airshow performance melted into another, and into another … all afternoon until the group of Christen Eagles finished up the show with the bright rainbow painted biplanes pulling off impossible looking formations and tricks - all of which Harry named for Scott.

Opening with their signature snap roll, Scott just had to grin as they started up. The tricks they flew were completely different than those he'd seen on the military base, and even different from those that the Blue Angels had performed earlier.

"Aileron rolls - always to the left to keep from fighting the prop torque," Harry told him as the group of five did exactly that.

Scott named off the barrel rolls and cuban eights … and correctly identified the fingertip formation that the little planes always went back to.

But he looked more than a little nervous when the little pack of brightly painted planes flew straight up into what Harry labelled as a 'hammerhead stall'. At the height of the stall, the smoke had turned off, and when the planes reached their apex, they all did a neat little snap roll and fell into a dive with their engines roaring again. He breathed out a little sigh of relief, but the anxiety part of the show wasn't over yet for Scott as after a few neat little tricks with the smoke, the leader in the formation again went almost straight up, but this time as he came down, he had the plane almost parallel and upside down to the ground as he spun laterally.

Scott was ready to panic as Harry leaned in to explain the trick. "That, my friend is an inverted flat spin. It just looks like a mistake because he's purposely spinning in his smoke trail. And he's upside down." He gave Scott a little smile and tipped his chin toward where the pilot had pulled out of the trick beautifully. "Maybe I'm old fashioned, but if I'm going to take a smoke bath, it's going to be on the ground."

Scott couldn't force the laugh, but both Logan and Harry were watching him, and before Scott could go into a full panic, Logan rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's a showboat move," Logan said. "And I doubt there'll be more of it."

Of course, the spike in Scott's scent had tipped Logan off, and he was ready to stop the kid if something got further out of hand, but with Harry and Logan both showing him such a calm front, Scott managed to shake the panic off with some effort.

As soon as the show was over, and the little group did their final pass, Harry directed them out of the airfield, complaining that he was starving to death as he asked Scott what he wanted to do for dinner - the little crisis averted. At least for the time being.


	5. Responsibility

When the day with Harry and Heather was completely over, Logan and Scott took the files that Heather had given them and finally headed out. As far as a day at the airport went, it couldn't have been much better, and unbeknownst to Scott, Harry had agreed to give them a lift on the last day of the show if they wanted it.

"Wanna come back on Sunday?" Logan asked, trying to see if Scott was up to something like a flight after watching the Eagles smoke tricks earlier.

"More?" Scott asked with his eyebrows high on his head.

"Well. Last day of the show. Figured if you were game, we'd load up the bike and get outta here," Logan admitted. "Pretty sure Harry's ready to get you some time on the stick."

Scott frowned to himself as he thought it over. "Where would we go?" he asked as he turned Logan's way.

"Well … Harry's headed north. He runs a guide service for hunters in northern Alberta, and he said he's considering a contract to run supplies to an arctic research station," Logan said. "Heather offered up her cabin .."

"Is it close enough to a town so I can finish school or get a part time job?" Scott asked. "Because I want to pay my share."

"No," Logan said, watching him a little closer. "It's in the middle of nowhere."

"Then I'd rather just stay somewhere I can do that- unless you _have_ to go …"

"I'm fine in the states," Logan said, nodding. "To be honest, I really didn't want to lean on Heather and Mac if I could help it. We'll have to find a place to stay and trade in the Harley. It won't be worth the oil it's leaking come winter, and I think the _climate_ is a little friendlier in the north."

Scott frowned a little deeper at that… unless, he realized Logan' wasn't talking about the weather. He shrugged his shoulders up a little more and scrunched in on himself as they got back to their room. Inside, on the table was today's local paper - with a small snippet in the corner about the rising tensions with these so called 'mutants', and Scott had to wonder to himself if Logan suspected _him_ of being one of these … people.

He found himself silently praying that the stupid headaches wouldn't return, because sometimes when they did? The whole world went red - even without the glasses - and for a moment, Scott found himself holding his breath as he had a small flashback to the last time he'd seen his brother, Alex.

_Their mother had pushed them out of the failing plane as their father tried to hold it steady. There was only one parachute and Alex was squirming. Scott was terrified that he'd drop his brother - that he'd be responsible for losing him …_

_He tried to keep Alex from seeing, from knowing what Scott already knew - that their parents weren't going to make it out of that plane alive. Not with the alien craft firing on them._

_He looked up as he desperately clutched to Alex, straining to hold him as they floated down. His hands clenched reflexively when he saw that in the firefight with the alien, their chute had been hit by some sort of laser and the silk was on fire._

" _Alex, hold on!" Scott called out as he doubled his efforts, pulling Alex up so he could hold onto him tighter. His brother was crying, screaming for their parents, but thankfully unable to see the dogfight that was going on … or the explosion on the distant mountainside when the Summer's plane slammed into the slope._

_His sob caught in his throat and the panic hit him fully as he clutched to his brother. His head was killing him - and all he could do was curse himself for another headache at a time like this._

_But then, as Alex finally held tightly to Scott's shoulders, Scott looked down and saw nothing but red. He didn't know how, but their descent was slowing enough that the silk above them didn't pull taut as it burned away. Just into the level of the trees, the silk was gone entirely and when the ropes fell around them, Alex screamed and Scott lost all semblance of concentration - and they fell._

"You okay kid?" Logan asked as Scott looked up at him, eyes brimming.

"Yeah. I just ... " Scott fell silent for a long moment, trying to gather control of himself as his breathing hitched. He wanted to tell him about the parachute and the smoke. But all he could do was think about his brother and wonder if Alex had found himself in a good situation or not. "I was thinking about my brother, that's all."

Logan just watched him for a moment. "When we see Heather and Harry off, you wanna have her look him up?"

Scott nodded after a short moment to think it over. "I just … I don't want him to be …"

"If anyone's messed with him, I'll handle whoever touched him myself," Logan promised.

Scott looked at the files on the table for a moment. "Can I still read that?"

"Not much to read, but knock yourself out." Logan pushed the folder his way. "Deal's a deal. Just wish I had more in there."

Scott just nodded as he silently cracked the folder open, the interested expression turning into one more like confusion as he looked through the pages and pages of… Nothing.

He stared at the folder for a long moment after he was done before he finally closed it and handed it back. "Not sure which is worse," Scott said finally in a low tone. "Knowing exactly what's wrong and how bad it is or knowing nothing at all and having to guess." He paused. "I think I'd like knowing better." When he finally looked Logan's way he was wearing an almost thoughtful look. "And … you'd rather know too, right? Is there … is this all you've found?"

"Yeah, I do - and that's all I can get. No way to know more unless I keep asking," Logan agreed with a nod. "More'n that though - I'd like to know why I don't have clearance to read about _myself_. The missions I get, sure. But why the hell can't I see my own personnel file?" He scrubbed a hand over his face and shook it off. "Not much I can do about it right now though."

Scott looked toward the closed folder for a moment, though he didn't think it was the right time to ask Logan why the files only had the one name - or if it was a first or last name, for that matter.

"Tomorrow we'll let Harry know he's going back with Heather alone," Logan said as he laid back on his bed. "She already said she'd work on getting that quartz thing made for you."

* * *

Scott couldn't relax, and he didn't sleep much that night. His tension wasn't eased in the least when the two of them headed to the diner for breakfast and he seemed to notice more headlines addressing the mutant problem. Today they were calling louder for registration of all mutants - like they were dangerous weapons that had to be monitored.

Scott watched Logan as he seemed to read through that particular article with a neutral expression - though he quickly moved on to the rest of the paper.

The young man was nervous as they headed toward the airshow again, and he couldn't help but notice Logan watching him from time to time, though Logan never bothered to stop doing so when Scott caught him. It was making the kid more antsy considering the news ...

"Where's the bike?" Heather asked in an exasperated tone when the two of them walked up to the gooney bird. "Or do we have to wait for the crowd to clear?"

"We're not going with you," Logan told her. "I'll send word when we pick a spot to spend the winter."

She goggled at them for a moment as Logan and Scott simply walked past her. "You … you have to be joking me."

"Nope," Logan said, turning to face her once Scott climbed into the plane. He sat in the open hatch and just watched her approach. "Don't have the paperwork to make it legal to cross the border. Don't feel like answerin' a buncha pesky questions from border patrol or immigration - who'd just go call up the Department as soon as they put my name in anyhow."

"Never stopped you before."

"Not gonna risk him gettin' put in another place like that if we get caught - or _when_ Mac gets tweaked and sends the Department my way. I'll tell you how to get a hold of me. When I know though."

"Logan -"

"Come on, Heather. Mac's a great guy, but he can't hold under pressure. I've seen it before. He's going to crack sooner or later and I don't want to leave the boy hanging. That's all there is to it." Logan shrugged as he leaned against the side of the open hatch. "If it was just me, I'd go. See what happens and how long they take to redact the whole damn fiasco."

"You don't know what they'd do …"

"What did you read on that last drop in I did for 'em? The one with the big green fella. Or is that all black ink too, because I got a feeling I know the answer."

"I can't access that," Heather admitted.

"Which is really interesting, don't you think - since you were on the flight deck?" Logan asked. "Watch your back, Heather."

She let out a breath, but couldn't argue with him. Not when he was right. "I just … _fine_. At least make sure you keep in touch with Harry so I can get those glasses to you."

Logan was nodding already as Scott quietly muttered out "hopefully I won't need 'em anymore," in a rather sullen tone. Logan looked his way but didn't say anything since it was clear Scott didn't know Logan had heard him.

"I'll get you an address," Logan promised. "Just send it to an alias, alright?"

"You have one in particular you want to go by?" Heather challenged, hands on her hips.

Logan looked thoughtful and frowned. "I … can't think of any that wouldn't get searched," Logan admitted.

"Use my name," Scott said. "I doubt anyone's looking for me."

The three adults all shared a look and finally, Heather nodded her head. "That would work, actually. Thank you, Scott." She gave him an appreciative smile and then turned to Harry. "You can put the address on yourself if you don't trust me, but … I'll get on those glasses right away."

It wasn't long after that before Heather and Harry said their goodbyes, and Heather was sure to give Scott a good hug as she asked him to keep an eye on her friend.

Harry on the other hand slipped Scott his Cubs baseball hat with a little smirk. "Next time you see me, I'll be in a smaller plane - and I expect you to take it for a spin with me, copilot."

Scott just grinned at him and nodded. "Yessir," he said - still beaming as Harry pulled the chocks on the landing gear.

The two of them stood back, well off the runway as Harry took his taxi out and as soon as the bird was in the air, and started to head out of sight, they just headed off again. "It won't take Heather too long to get that all figured out," Logan told him. "If she's got a project - she'll be in a rush to move it forward."

Scott looked over his shoulder one last time, trying to spot the glimmer of silver in the air, though by then there were already other large planes taking off one by one as the people that had flown in for the week long airshow were all leaving. "Then we should have an address for them when she gets it all figured out, right?"

Logan just chuckled and agreed. "Sounds like a plan. We can check over the paper and if it doesn't look good - we'll head out in the morning."

Scott didn't answer, mostly because he was a little too lost in thought hoping that the building pressure at the back of his head was from all the noise over the past few days. He was sure he was probably a little dehydrated too - something else that would probably contribute to a headache. But, rather than say anything, he simply started drinking water when they got back to the cabin. He left the lights off in his room and just tried to relax, his eyes closed before he started drinking water like a fish. He had to get this stupid headache to stop before it really got going - because of _course_ it would start up when Heather and Harry were gone. Not that he expected them to do anything in his favor if they saw ….

With a heavy sigh, Scott simply went to bed. Maybe he could sleep tonight. That would do him wonders, he knew. Just to … let go. And rest. He almost laughed to himself as he thought _I wonder what that's like._


	6. Different Views

It took a few days before Logan got a decent idea of where they could go to find work and a place to stay - and while he was looking, he was a little distracted with what he had to do … enough so that he didn't realize right away that Scott wasn't feeling much like himself.

In fact, every day that passed, Scott was more and more quiet and still as he tried to get the building headache under control, furiously trying to push it down, begging the powers that be to just … cut him this _one_ small break. At least until Heather could manage to get him those glasses.

So it took Scott a moment to register that he wasn't alone as Logan finally realized that things weren't kosher with the kid. "Where does it hurt?" Logan asked, kicking himself from the doorway and walking toward him.

"It's not too bad," Scott tried to cover, desperate for it to be the truth.

"Let's get something straight," Logan said as he took the seat nearest him. "Don't lie to me. I know when you're lying and there's no sense in it. So come on. Where does it hurt?"

Scott locked his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. "Back of my head and my eyes," he said quietly. "But it'll go away."

Logan let out a sigh and reached out to put his thumb right between Scott's eyebrows and began to push that spot rather hard. "Don't lie, and don't move."

Scott tensed and tried not to panic. No one had done anything even remotely like that before and Logan didn't seem to think it was unusual at all. But it sure seemed odd. "What are you doing?" Scott asked, still tense.

"Pressure points to relieve the headache," Logan explained. "Different ones for different problems. This one is good for eye pain. But it takes some time."

Scott didn't look convinced in the least, but he didn't argue it, particularly when about a minute later, his eyes did start to feel less … stressed. "How do you know that stuff?" Scott asked as Logan adjusted where his thumbs were for a second set of pressure points - this time at the back of Scott's neck.

"I don't know," Logan replied in a disinterested tone. "But it works, so what difference does it make?"

Scott had to agree with him, to a point, but seeing as just a few minutes had passed, and there was a marked difference in his pain level, he figured he could let it go. For now. "Thanks," Scott said with an almost confused smirk, ready now to help with the planning prep.

* * *

As it turned out, they found a little community that seemed to be a good fit for both of them. It was on the edge of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, which meant that there would be plenty of work for Logan to find in the woods and the school that was attached to the area offered plenty for Scott to do, though he was a little discouraged that all of the places he'd talked to within the first few weeks of settling in to their cabin simply didn't hire kids his age.

So Scott was irritated when he got in after yet another unsuccessful mission for work. "There's nothing I can _do_ here to help," he said in a little display of his age, though he stopped when he saw Logan was lacing up his boots. "What's going on?"

"Just got a good chance to make some quick cash. So I'm gonna take it," Logan told him. "Should be back late - so don't think I took off on you."

"Is this normal for you?" Scott asked, still trying to figure out his … well. He wasn't sure what to call him.

Logan paused and thought it over. "From time to time? Yeah. Sure. But it's _not_ a big deal. It just takes up the better part of the night." He pulled a flannel shirt over his shoulders and took a few more steps toward the door. "Cash on the table if you want to hit the diner or … order a pizza or whatever. Be back with a little more cash."

Scott just watched, unsure if it was even acceptable for him to argue the point as Logan gave him a little smirk and stepped out of the door, leaving Scott with cash, an empty cabin, and a television.

He frowned to himself and let out a sigh before he crossed the room to the kitchen and decided to take a look at what they had available before he went so far as to spend _more_ money. At least until he found a way to kick in, he didn't want to spend any more of Logan's cash than he had to. Especially when Logan seemed to feel like he had to rush off for 'quick cash'.

Scott didn't waste much time before he whipped himself up a simple dinner and made his way to the great room to watch a movie on TV. He had nothing better to do, and his job hunt had fallen so flat that honestly, the boy was discouraged. He didn't know anyone in town well enough yet to talk them into letting him work somewhere, so all he could do for now was just … wait and see what Logan's little gamble was all about.

As luck would have it, it was a horror movie marathon, which just meant he could take a real shot at staying awake - not that he was overly concerned about being ditched. He _was_ still concerned ... just not _overly_ so. He settled in, his evening apparently planned out for him, and he supposed it would likely be that way on the weekends at least for the foreseeable future.

* * *

Logan meanwhile had taken his time getting down to the large waterfront bar that had been very discreetly organizing the highly illegal, no hold barred, bare knuckle fight. There was no cap on the number of entrants, and all of the guys that he'd started work with were talking about it.

The fee was kind of steep - a hundred per fighter and a three drink minimum - but seeing as it was a winner-takes-all brawl … Logan didn't hesitate to sign in even before getting an idea of who the other fighters were. From there he ordered a beer and just leaned against the bar to watch the fighters get themselves pumped up.

The chalkboard bracket near the bar was filling up fast, and he was surprised to see that they had to tack on more to have room to cover what turned out to be a pretty wickedly full roster.

* * *

Most of the fights that happened that night were pretty substandard fare, simple one or two hit knockouts. But the ones that made it past the first two rounds had shaped up to be actual fighters - not that it made any difference on the final outcome. The big thing was how _long_ it took, just as Logan had predicted. It took _time._

Even with three rings running at once, it took all night to work through the brackets and Logan didn't get his money and out of the bar until nearly three in the morning. He had taken his share of the beatings, but he'd doled it out much better than what that fight could offer, and naturally, he found himself walking out with the cash payout.

When he got to the cabin, he paused outside and rolled his shoulder, allowing himself a moment to appreciate the buzzing sensation that told him his healing was in top shape before he had to ignore it and go in.

Scott was on the couch, stretched out but not sleeping. Even if he'd tried to pretend he was - which, of course he didn't. On hearing Logan come in, Scott sat up, and froze on seeing how much blood was on Logan's shirt and jeans. For just a moment, neither of them said a word. And then Logan just closed the door and proceeded as if nothing was wrong.

"Movies keeping you up?" Logan asked conversationally before he shrugged out of the mostly-in-tact flannel shirt, revealing of course, that most of the mess was on the white shirt underneath.

Scott stared at him for a good long time before he halfway scrambled to his feet. "There's a First Aid kid upstairs," was the first thing he said, his gaze still on the blood.

"I'm fine," Logan insisted as he walked into his room. "Besides, it paid off." He took the cash and dropped it on his bed. "Ought to help out a little bit when work cuts back over winter," he explained before he leaned in his doorway to make sure Scott was alright, all things considered. "Wasn't trying to freak you out."

"You shouldn't have to - if I can find something - I'll … lie about my age if money's that tight."

"It's not a regular gig, and it's not that tight," Logan replied easily. "Just … insurance. A reserve."

Scott was still watching him warily, clearly not sure what to make of that. "That can't all be… someone else's," he pointed out at last, still frowning hard and clearly concerned.

"No," he admitted. "But I'm fine. I promise. I'm not bleeding anywhere."

"You really don't have to _do_ that," Scott said in almost a mutter. "If we don't need the money…"

"Scott, I'd be doing it anyhow, even if I was alone. Just …it's a good way to blow off a little steam and not get arrested."

"For what - kidnapping or … whatever this is?" Scott asked with one eyebrow raised as he gestured at Logan.

"It was a fight bracket," Logan told him. "Everyone that wants in pays, winner take all. Pretty cut and dried."

That stopped Scott for a second. "So - you won."

"Of course I did."

Scott frowned hard at that and then just sighed. "Do you do this often?"

"No," Logan replied. "They don't come up very often, and I hardly ever catch them when they do. But," Logan paused for a moment. "When I go, _I win_." He gave him a little smirk. "I'm not going to do anything to get hurt in any way that'll stick _._ "

Scott seemed to take a good long time to consider this. "And the other guys?" he asked, tipping his head at Logan's shirt.

"I'm not going out of my way to beat anyone down. They know what they're getting into," Logan said. "I try to knock them out fast. Not an extended pounding session."

Scott tipped his head to the side. "Alright, well… there's still a First Aid kit. Even if you're not bleeding right _now_."

"Thanks," Logan said, shaking his head slightly. "I'll keep that in mind." With that, Logan headed off to take a shower, and when he finally came out clean and in fresh clothes, Scott had to frown since he didn't even look like he had so much as a bruise, though it didn't take anything at all for Logan to pass out solidly.

* * *

It took some time for Scott to fall asleep, all things considered. He hadn't thought that Logan was going to come home like _that_ or he probably wouldn't have spent the evening watching that stupid horror film marathon. But, when he woke up late the next morning, he had all but forgotten the night before, just blearily making his way to the kitchen, where he stopped and just stared for a moment as he realized something was off.

It took a few moments longer for him to put it together. It was past eleven and there was no coffee in the pot. He let out a little 'hmm' as he walked over to the coffee pot, thinking that perhaps Logan had just gone through the whole pot, as he did sometimes, but the glass was cold, so there was no way that it had been used.

He turned on his heel and headed toward Logan's room, where he froze to the spot when he realized that it didn't look like Logan had moved a muscle from the night before. He had to stand there for a while, just taking stock, trying hard not to outright panic before he started to walk forward slowly, watching for any movement. _Anything._

It wasn't much of a comfort somehow when he finally saw that Logan was at least breathing. Instead, Scott's mind was racing with all the possibilities on what might be going _wrong._ Sure, he'd won his stupid fights, but that didn't mean that he hadn't … gotten himself a concussion. Or … internal bleeding. Or .. whatever other stupid stuff that can happen to people that purposely go out and get into a whole _bracket_ of fights - _on purpose_ only to come home half covered in blood.

But that line of thinking didn't really fix his issue. Not when it was so so late compared to Logan's usual wake up call. Big fight night or no - it had him antsy. So, without any other recourse, he took a few steps closer, still looking for a nasty bruise. Or a black eye. Something. But when Logan just seemed to sleep on, all it really did was convince Scott that there might still be big trouble, so he finally took a breath to steady himself and gently shook Logan's arm a couple of times, biting the inside of his cheek before he called out his name - and then very nearly took a step back when all Logan did was crack an eye open and turn his head toward Scott.

"Something wrong?" Logan asked in a far more tired voice than Scott had heard from him before.

"I just … wanted to know if you wanted coffee this late," Scott said quietly.

Logan gave him a look that was very plainly a call out, but on seeing how upset the kid looked, he just nodded. "Sounds great, yeah." He waited just a moment, and Scott still hadn't left the room yet before he once again _tried_ to reassure him. "I'm fine. Just tired."

"Yeah. Late night," Scott said in a quiet voice that didn't sound much like he believed it.

Logan just chuckled a bit and sat up slowly, stretching out as he did so. "Yeah. It was the staying up that did it."

"Pretty sure there's stuff in the freezer you can use if you're sore," Scott said, relaxing a bit now that Logan was up and _moving_.

"I'm fine, really. But I think food is more pressing than cold compresses." Logan finally got to his feet and followed Scott out. "Any preference?"

"It's almost lunchtime - I can throw together something. We've got some leftovers I can make sandwiches out of."

"Sure," Logan agreed. "Then we can maybe get a leg up on Mac and go fishing."

"You sure?" Scott asked, still not quite sure if Logan was up to it.

"How much trouble do you think I can get into sitting on the edge of a lake?" Logan asked. "I can probably even find a few bobbers so I don't have to move if you're concerned."

Scott smirked at that. "We'll find a mossy log."

"See? Peaceful afternoon," Logan said as he started up the coffee and Scott pulled out the leftovers for the two of them to grab their lunch.

Once the they had refueled, which - Scott noted Logan was definitely more hungry than usual - the two of them did decide to head out to try their hand at catching their dinner. Scott was smiling in fact when he stepped out of the cabin, but that smile slipped when he looked up to see that Logan's motorcycle was gone, and in its place sat a well used Jeep.

"Please tell me you didn't… last night wasn't for _this,"_ Scott said. "Did you sell the bike?"

"Yeah, I sold it on my way in last night," Logan told him. "Kinda had to. It wasn't going to be worth anything to get around with once the snow starts flying."

"It was a good bike, though," Scott half muttered, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously as he couldn't help but wonder if Logan would have ditched the bike if he hadn't had Scott around.

"And there are thousands of them just like it," Logan said with a nod. "I'd really rather have had a different model anyhow."

"One that doesn't leak as bad," Scott offered with a small smirk before he looked toward the Jeep and tipped his head to the side. "Tell me at least this one doesn't … I don't know … have a bad carburetor or something."

"Checked out okay, might need a new clutch though," Logan admitted with a shrug. "If it goes out, I can drive it without it. Probably a weekend project. But the price was right and the four wheel drive works."

"Bet I can help," Scott said. "I don't know much - dad used to let me help work on his plane, though. I'm real good for holding toolboxes and following directions," he added with a small self-conscious smile.

"I'm sure you can," Logan replied. "Be good for you to get some grease on your hands." The two of them loaded up into the old jeep and headed out. It didn't take long to get what they needed to hit the lake, and when they finally did, it was more or less as exciting as Logan had promised.

Scott enjoyed it once he got the hang of it, in spite of the fact that the mosquitoes and deer flies were vicious - but of course, that was outweighed quickly when he was the one to catch the fish. Both of them.

"Always take a beginner with when you go fishing," Logan told him with a little smirk as they headed back to the jeep. "Nice job."

"Yeah, well, let's see if it's just 'beginner's luck' when we do this again," Scott said, still generally pleased with himself and his catch.

"I'm perfectly happy if it's not," Logan replied. "Makes it easier all the way around."

"Give me a little practice, I can cook 'em and everything," Scott said with a proud nod, glad to finally have _something_ that he could feel like he was doing to contribute.

"You're on," Logan agreed. "Let's get these back and see how you do." Logan was still smirking to himself when they got back to the cabin and Scott was sure to quickly make his way inside to get started, setting the new standard for their weekends anyhow.


	7. Getting Settled - Finally

As the weeks passed, Scott did pretty well learning how to cook the fish they caught every weekend, though it did take him a few tries to get it right. And- the regular meals and decidedly lower stress rate seemed to be doing the boy wonders. He was growing. _Fast_. He almost didn't notice it until he was standing next to Logan and realized that he'd passed him up.

He just smirked Logan's way until the now-shorter man just gave him a dry look. "Like it's hard to be taller'n _me_?" Scott couldn't help but smile at that though he tried to keep from picking too much. At least for now while they were still getting to know each other.

The last few weeks of summer had passed quickly, and Scott was a little bit anxious about starting up school. Heather still hadn't managed to secure the proper material for his glasses, and as luck would have it, his headaches were again becoming an issue, though the pressure points Logan had taught him helped _tremendously._

The only thing that had Scott even partly relaxed was the fact that the school was on the way to where Logan was working, though all it really amounted to was an hour before school to spend in the library. The first week or two was tough. He didn't have the same manner of speaking as the rest of the kids in the school, and it was obvious to all of them that had grown up together in that small town that he simply wasn't one of them.

He did, however decide to at least _try._ If he couldn't work, then maybe he could get on one of the sports teams so that he didn't have as much time to kill waiting for a ride. He'd decided to go out for the Hockey team when tryouts came up, just for something to keep himself busy, and he _had_ played when he was still with his parents.

Scott was sure he'd be fine with a little practice, so that's what he did - every day after school if he wasn't studying, though he did stop short of changing the usual weekend plans since he really enjoyed the quiet in the woods with Logan when they went fishing. Logan rarely started the conversation, perfectly content to just be there and keep him company while he 'contributed'.

By the time tryouts came around, Scott had been stressing himself terribly. He hadn't found his niche in the school yet, and his headaches had started to intensify. He was ready to just forget all of it - hang up his skates and call it like it was, but when he got to the cabin after practice, he was surprised to find a package on the table with his name on it.

He looked at the name on the return address and frowned. It was from Harry, and addressed to him, and without thinking about it, he just opened it up to find that finally, after all this time, Heather had managed to come through. He stared at the new glasses for a moment - they looked much better than the ones he'd gotten at the orphanage, but … they were just so … identifiable.

He picked them up with a deep frown and carried them to his room. For a moment, he did put them on - but one glance in the mirror had his jaw locked and he quickly took them off again and set them down on the dresser. "Not going to use them unless I _have to_ ," Scott said to himself before he nodded once and turned to get back to his homework.

* * *

The Hockey tryouts had finally arrived, and Scott was nervous and more than a little stressed over the whole affair. Waiting for his turn to try out, he was pressing his thumb between his eyebrows hard enough that although it was helping his eyes not hurt as much, that spot was starting to ache and he spent the last ten minutes or so before he took the ice pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes.

When his name was called, he got up and gave his best shot, flat out ignoring the pounding headache and the way his eyes were feeling. He just didn't have time for it when he was doing something _that_ important.

He skated well, but he hadn't prepared for the dirty tricks the upperclassmen were using on the younger guys, and he ended up with the wind knocked out of him when he was body checked into the wall by two guys.

When tryouts were over, he left reasonably sure he'd missed the mark. He skated well and shot perfectly. He could work the puck as well as the big kids, but the dirty tricks …

To his credit, he didn't quit or complain when they tripped him or slammed him. But he had the whole weekend to sit through before he would know who made the cut and with his head pounding worse than he could remember it doing before, Scott was just feeling down about all of it as he made his way to the cabin.

Logan's week had gone similarly bad. Their log cutting outfit had gotten a new guy a few weeks prior, and from the get go, he'd been a blowhard and a giant pain in the ass. At first, Logan blew it off as just a run of the mill macho idiot, but at the beginning of the week, the guy had let slip that he'd been in the fights a few months prior and had his thunder stolen by a weasely little cheat.

The guys that knew Logan well by this point just fell silent, unsure if their new friend was going to be riled by a sore loser or not, and Logan himself just shook it off. "Plenty of guys lost and got over it," the foreman had said. "You might want to consider that since - you don't know what the hell you're talking about."

But the guy had just slowly amped up his aggression level, apparently more and more irritated by working with the guy who'd won. He spent every chance he got insulting Logan in any way he could dream up, and though as a general rule, Logan ignored it … it did have a way of wearin' on a guy.

The group was done with work for the day - the trucks loaded up, and everyone was heading back to their vehicles when this moron came up behind Logan and pushed him hard enough to get him to stumble. He turned toward him ready to ream him out and barely dodged the punch the guy had thrown at him.

The foreman was calling out that they couldn't fight, but the big guy was undeterred, so with the next punch he threw, Logan ducked under the guy's arm and swept his feet out from under him, dropping him flat on his back in the mud.

Logan just looked down at him with a scowl and his fists clenched before he turned and continued on his way, not interested in the least in continuing a fight with the guy. At least, not on company grounds. Or anywhere that he could be held responsible. Avoiding arrest was kind of a big priority.

So by the time he met up with Scott, who was sullen and hurting and down on himself - the two of them were quite the pair.

They both changed out of their 'work' clothes and into something more fitting of the fall weather before they packed a bag for the weekend and headed a little further north into the woods across the state line into the Ottawa National Forest for a weekend of camping without so much as a word spoken between them.

The colors in the trees were already fully changed, and Scott had to admit, even though his head was killing him, just looking at the warmly colored forest was relaxing. Logan took them as deeply into the forest as he could with the jeep, and the last ten miles or so were a wild ride through mud and water and over rocks. The little off roading experience had Scott smiling in spite of himself. There was just something _fun_ about going through that stuff and watching it splatter on the windshield that even he couldn't deny on his worst days.

When they couldn't go further without risking major damage to the jeep, Logan found a solid place to leave it and the two of them gathered up their gear and headed into the woods, where Logan promised there was a good trout stream. How he ever found his way that deeply in the woods without leaving markers for the trail back, Scott simply didn't know, but one thing was certain.

For as deeply as Logan was leading him, he wanted as far away from people as Scott did.


	8. Don't Lie

The softly flowing river wasn't too far from where they set up camp, and it was probably one of the prettiest places that Logan had come up with for one of their weekend trips - though the fall colors might have had more impact on that than anything else. As soon as the tents were up, Scott was headed to the river, more than happy to spend a little time in the quiet woods listening to the birds sing over the water that was bubbling through the rocky little waterfall upstream.

Logan set to gathering firewood and after that, simply found a spot downwind from Scott to smoke as he joined him in fishing. It was about as perfect a start to the weekend as they could have planned.

The first night was spent almost entirely in silence, odd for Scott, but Logan didn't press, knowing that it had been tryouts, and he'd both seen and smelled how anxious the kid was. But - here in the woods he was slowly relaxing.

The next morning was more of the same. Lots of fishing was always on the agenda, and Saturdays were the best in the woods because there was no pressure to go anywhere. By noon, both of them were in much better moods, though the headache Scott had been fighting hadn't eased up in the least. If anything it was getting worse, but when he heard Logan take a seat across from him at the fire, Scott tried to deflect before Logan could ask him anything with that concerned tone that always made Scott feel a little guilty.

"So who had you all growly?" Scott asked, figuring he'd fire the first shot so that Logan would have to spill first.

"New guy," Logan replied. "Tried to start a fight with me. Had to put him on the ground before it got out of hand. What about you?"

"Just … a little nervous on the tryouts," Scott admitted, though he pointedly left out the fact that his head felt as if the pressure was just building - and he was sure it was going to crack open soon. "Did you get in trouble for the fight?"

"No," Logan said in a purely dismissive tone. "I didn't hurt him. Just dropped him in the mud. No big deal." He poked at the fire, raking a few more hot coals toward where the coffee pot was hanging. "Tryouts. You didn't say anything about 'em. So, how'd it go?"

Scott hedged and rolled one shoulder up. "Pretty sure I blew it. Wasn't ready for dirty tricks during tryouts. I probably should have been but ... "

"Wanna learn some self defense?" Logan asked as he poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. "Might help you learn how to dodge anyhow. Be useful off the ice too."

"Like what? Boxing?" Scott asked but Logan just shook his head.

"No, little more useful than that. Boxing's okay but - usually the guys that get into that tend to think it's the end all be all of fighting. It's not."

Scott was still for a moment, halfway watching him out of the corner of his eye. "So … if not boxing, then what _do_ you know?"

"On top of boxing you mean?" Logan said with a little smirk, watching the water. He thought about it for a moment. "Martial arts, mostly. A few south american and middle eastern variants."

"Which martial arts do you know?" Scott asked, his curiosity piqued.

Logan frowned then turned Scott's way with an expression of near confusion.. "Pretty much all of them."

Scott's eyebrows went up a bit at that, though he recognized the look as the same one Logan had worn at the airshow before telling them about a CIA mission. So it had to have been right. "Is … is that how you won all those fights?"

At that, Logan began to smirk. "No. I just hit 'em real hard."

Scott had to shake his head at him and slipped off his log to lean on it, tipping his head back to look up at the sky. It was a perfect turquoise blue that somehow looked brighter still as he looked up through the morning sunbeams as they filtered through the colored canopy above. "It's really nice here," Scott said after a while.

"It is," Logan agreed before he got to his feet. "And no offense to your fine work as a fisherman, but it's partridge season. And I'm thinking birds might be nice for a change."

Scott sat up with a look of interest. "Are you going to try to get them without a gun?" Scott asked. "How does that work out?"

"Pretty damn well most of the time," Logan replied. "But if you're concerned, you can always fish."

Scott tipped his head Logan's way. "Might not be a bad idea to have a backup plan."

"Suit yourself," Logan said as he got to his feet. "I'll be back before you know it."

Scott watched him slip into the woods silently and had to just stare. He'd never seen anyone move that quietly before.

By noon, Scott had caught three fish and kept two … though his focus was admittedly a bit lax considering that he very nearly dropped his rod and reel into the stream as he doubled over. He was on the verge of tears for as badly as his head hurt, and he made it to a nearby tree, the heels of his palms pressed to his eyes as he all but writhed at the foot of the tree, desperate to get the pain under control.

He tried the pressure points, but nothing was working and he legitimately began to think he was going to just die in the woods when Logan called out to him. "Take it easy," he was telling him, and in a moment, Logan was right next to him trying to help him to relax. "Hey, look at me, you're alright."

Scott was shaking his head, doing his best to _keep_ from looking at Logan though, even as he tried to coach him into deep breathing and stuck with him. The pain didn't ebb in the least, but after he at least started to breathe, he felt like he could open his eyes, but when he did - all he saw was red - everywhere.

A sound that fell somewhere between an electrical spark and a laser discharging filled the air and in an instant, Logan was blasted backward and pinned to a tree. It only took a split second, but from what Scott saw - he'd somehow attacked _Logan._ He shut his eyes tight and started to panic, even as he heard Logan at the foot of the tree, breathing heavily and clearly in pain.

He was terrified to open his eyes again, because he could still feel that pressure near his eyes, even if it had lessened slightly with… whatever had just… _escaped_ was the best word for it. But it wasn't gone, and if _whatever_ it was happened again… "I'm sorry," he halfway gasped, trying to find a way to Logan with his eyes tightly screwed shut and then pausing - he'd just attacked the guy. Probably not a good idea to approach him again. "How bad is it? I… can call someone. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Logan said, though he was obviously out of breath. "I just need a minute."

Scott shook his head as he leaned against the nearest tree to get his own breath back, panicking and terrified. "If you think you can make it back… I'm sorry."

"Scotty, I'm fine. Just calm down. Breathe." Logan was certainly taken off guard by … whatever the hell that was. He leaned his head against the tree trunk behind him and tried hard not to make any noise to keep from alarming Scott any further. But it was _not_ easy. At all. He grimaced and in spite of himself - a small noise slipped out that was a clear indicator for the pain he was in.

"I'm sorry," Scott said again, just trying to keep his eyes screwed shut and try to just… breathe.

"You didn't do it on purpose, so just … take it easy," Logan tried to assure him now that he was at least catching his breath and pushing down the pain. "It's not an emergency. At all."

Scott just rested his head on his knees, now more angry with himself than anything hearing that Logan was okay at least. "Should've just… brought the stupid glasses," he muttered.

"Not like you knew you'd need 'em," Logan said as he finally started to get his feet under him.

"Headache's been building," Scott admitted.

Logan started to make his way over to him, shaking his head to himself. "Well. Now you know what to look for. But I gotta ask. Do they actually help you?"

"Yeah," Scott said. "I don't know why - but it's easier to deal with, somehow."

Logan reached Scott's tree and just slid down to sit next to him, though he hid the grimace on his face as his chest pulled with the motion. "Well. Then I guess you'll need to keep 'em handy. You pack one helluva punch, kid."

"I really am sorry - I didn't know it was going to… _do_ that," Scott said, still leaning into his knees.

Logan let out a heavy sigh and reached over to rest one hand on Scott's shoulder. "I'm tellin' you, kid. It's fine. Couldn't have hand picked anyone much better to hit with it."

Scott almost smirked at that. "What - this isn't the first time you've been… whatever that was - into a tree?"

"Well not exactly like that, no. But I've met a few trees up close and personal."

Scott nodded at that and fell quiet for a long time, thinking it over, before he just sighed out a breath. "It won't happen again, I swear."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Logan warned. "Just gotta learn to control it. Whatever it is."

"Yeah, no, I got it. Just gonna bring the glasses - I won't toss you into a tree again. It's fine," Scott said quickly.

Logan chuckled a little bit. "I can take it if it ever comes up again," he told him, considering how to explain his own little quirk. "I had a lot worse than that before. And I'll have a lot worse than that again."

"Yeah, I don't want to hit you," Scott said. The pressure was starting to lessen as he took a deep breath.

"That's good," Logan teased as he patted Scott's shoulder and decided to quickly change the subject. "You keep the fire going or …"

Scott just nodded once. "Yeah. Should still be going, I think," he said, though he paused, not sure how long it had been since the headache started.

"Great. I got three partridge if you're interested."

Scott tried peeking one eye open with his gaze on the ground, and when he saw green, he let out a breath. "Yeah, sounds good," he said in a breath of relief.

Logan bumped his shoulder. "You alright now?"

"Well, nothing's red but the flannel, so I think so," Scott said.

"Not what I meant, and you know it." Logan's tone wasn't harsh, but it was absolutely serious.

Scott let out a breath. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he said.

"Alright then, let's get to work an' quit wasting daylight." Logan got up to his feet and just kind of shrugged when Scott froze again on seeing the damage to Logan's shirt. "It was worn out anyhow," Logan said with a tip of his head as he headed over to start cleaning the birds.

The rest of their camping trip went on without incident, and Logan didn't mention what had happened at all/ Instead, he let Scott just soak it up in silence - not wanting to push the kid.

In fact, he didn't push the kid once they got back either, and within a day or two of returning and falling back into the usual routine, it was clear to Scott that at least to Logan - nothing had changed.

To his shock, when he got back to school, the roster had posted for the Hockey team too - and again, he was wordless seeing as the coach had picked him up for the starting line up.

But when he got in from school with the good news, he was surprised to find Logan there - before work would normally have let out. He didn't seem bothered in the least and was with his feet kicked up. "So," Logan said. "How'd it go? You get in?"

Scott's grin wasn't quite as full-force as it had been before, though he couldn't hide it, either. "Yeah. Yeah, I did," he said. "What, did you come home early just to find out?"

"Nope, the trails are too muddy to get the trucks in - sounds like I'm done for a while. At least until everything dries up or freezes hard enough," Logan told him. "So, here I am. Figured if you're not too busy on your off days I can start you on some Jiu jitsu and karate."

Scott blinked in honest surprise before he couldn't stop the smile and nodded quickly. "Yeah. I mean, please. That would be great."

After that - Scott's week was pretty well packed. If he wasn't at hockey practice, then he was learning self defense. It was a solid two weeks into the practice schedule before their first game, and to Scott's relief, though the game was hard fought, they won it, 3-2 in the last minute.

But … after that, the headaches began to creep in with more frequency and intensity again, and to Scott's surprise, Logan didn't say a word when he came home from school and slipped into his room to put the glasses on and try to lay back and relax.

He had hoped that it would back off. He had been _sure_ that the headache would be gone by the next morning - but it just wasn't how it was going to work out for him. He dreaded having to go in to class wearing the ruby lenses. Had it not been for the fact that he had to show up to practice - or not play in the game Friday night, he absolutely would have skipped. And he knew Logan wouldn't say a word about it if he did.

But he couldn't let down his team - even if he hated every second of wearing the lenses.

It started with stares. Of course it did. And whispered comments that leaned toward questioning his fashion sense. But when his third hour english teacher told him to remove them, and he refused … it started to snowball into something else.

He was sent to the principal's office, and after explaining several times to both the principal and the school nurse, and neither of them believing him - they called in Logan, who made it very clear to the principal what he thought about the situation.

Logan had made sure to bring the document that was in the folder Heather had provided them, and Scott wasn't sure what exactly was going to happen when Logan asked him to step outside and let him have a quiet discussion with the guy.

All Scott knew was that one minute, the principal was looking stern and Logan was smirking - and then the door closed.

He heard the principal say _something_ with a raised voice to Logan and then it got very very quiet for all of about five minutes and when the door opened again, Logan came out looking irritated and the principal seemed shellshocked before he _apologized_ to Scott for not believing him.

"No one will mention this again," the principal promised. "Please, get to class. I'd hate for you to get behind."

"See you later," Logan said to Scott on his way back out of the office. "Let me know if there are any problems with your coach."

"Logan, I-" Scott stopped, about to say he could handle it on his own, before he let out a breath. "Thanks."

"Any time," Logan replied with a little smirk before he simply left.

"Mr. Summers, please hurry back to class," The principal said in a slightly shaky voice as Scott nodded and slipped out.


	9. Interpersonal Dynamics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies for jacking up the chapters - please go read Chapter six in order ... I had inadvertently put Seven up twice. OOPS.

Chapter Nine: Interpersonal Dynamics 

 

Word travelled fast in the school. It seemed that the teachers didn’t say a word to Scott in any of his other classes after Logan set the principal straight, though the hushed whispers from the kids were coming a bit more frequently.  By the time he got to hockey, he was pretty tired of it - but he didn’t expect his coach’s reaction at all. 

 

“You know what,” his coach said as he looked Scott over carefully. “I think they might help you focus better.” He paused and tipped his head to the side. “Just tell me if you have problems seeing the lines. We might have to adjust your position if you do.” 

 

Scott smirked the slightest and thanked him before he went out on the ice, going right into warm ups, but the slight reprieve didn’t last too long. Not that he expected it would.

 

Of course, he had expected one of the upperclassmen to give him a hassle. There was always trouble from that one kid. Nathan was a big guy. And he’d been on the team since he’d hit high school - always in the same position, never good enough to pull off team captain or co-captain. 

 

So of course, the guy had been just barely holding it back when Scott took his best friend’s spot as defenseman. Seeing Scott wearing the red lenses … well. That had been too much. It was just one more strike on him as far as Nathan was concerned. And he latched onto it - making snide comments every time they passed each other - trying to trip him up with his stick every chance he got - ‘accidentally’ body checking him into the wall. Just busting his chops all. Practice. Long.

 

By the end of it, Scott was frustrated. And sore. But if Nathan’s aim had been to get Scott to quit - he couldn’t have been more off. There was no way that was going to happen. Particularly when the coach was right. The red lenses  _ did  _ seem to help him isolate the puck faster. And for some reason, the detail seemed to actually pop more when it was taken down to a monochrome. So of course, there was no way Scott was going to let one jerk keep him down. 

 

The game came up quickly that week, and though it wasn’t a big rivalry school, it was still important to Scott to prove his spot on the team. He wasn’t entirely sure if it helped or hurt his nerves in general to know that Logan had come out to watch the game - though he was sure that Logan was watching for trouble more than anything else. 

 

Scott did his best - and after the game went into overtime with an even 3-3 score, they managed to squeak out a win. The team celebrated properly, and when it was all over, the party broke up pretty quickly, considering how tired all the players involved were from the late running game. 

 

Logan met up with Scott near the parking lot, and the two of them were headed to the jeep when Scott heard the first insult fly. It was from Nathan, of course. But to make it worse, and it  _ did  _ make it worse, it sounded as if Nathan’s father was joining the boy in the teasing. 

 

Of course, as luck would have it - Nathan’s father had apparently been one of the fighters from the bar brawl, though it took a moment for Scott to put that part together. While Nathan carried on about how something was obviously wrong with Scott, his dad was going on about how rigged that fight was. And both of them concluded quickly that the pair - Logan and Scott - were just a couple of lowlife freaks.

 

Oddly enough, the slams that Scott was hearing about himself weren’t bothering him too much. Well. That wasn’t entirely true. His heart rate had ticked up a bit at the casual and cruel toss of the phrase ‘freaks’. But it was nothing. Not when compared to what he was hearing from Nathan’s dad anyhow. 

 

It was of course, the same lines of insults that had gotten Logan to knock Mr. Pelletier off his feet and into the mud before. It was painfully obvious that he was trying to rile Logan, and to Scott’s surprise, Logan simply wasn’t rising to the bait. Or at least he didn’t  _ look  _ like he was getting irritated. At all. In fact, as he talked, Logan pulled a cigar out of his pocket and lit it, leisurely enjoying his smoke and flat not bothering to acknowledge the guy’s existence. 

 

When Scott glanced over at Logan again, Logan just shrugged. “That jerk give you trouble like that all the time?” he asked. 

 

“He’s the one guy that can’t seem to keep it in the game,” Scott agreed as the taunting continued. The two of them had to stop and wait for traffic to clear before they could cross the road, and Scott watched nervously as Nathan’s father started in on Logan - only to stop mid sentence when Logan turned and gave him a warning look. But it didn’t last long. 

 

Nathan had noticed that his father had backed off, and after a beat or two he leaned in to push his father - of all people wanting to know why.  _ Why  _ was he taking a cue from the little runt?  _ Why  _ was he backing off when it was so clear that a Pelletier could wipe the floor with him? Logan had covered a little bark of a laugh with a cough at that, and Scott kept his gaze forward as he tried to school his expression, though the smirk was solidly there to stay.  

 

The group had finally gotten across the street before the man started up again - but this time, he was joining his son on tearing down Scott. 

 

“Figures the ugly runt would have a gimp kid, too. Boy can’t play worth a damn so he’s building up the sympathy angle instead,”  Pelletier said, and before Scott could even begin to react - Logan moved. 

 

A single loud crack echoed the streets and Nathan’s father simply fell back flat. He was out before he’d hit the ground, and when he did Logan was already back to walking, eyes forward and taking another pull off his cigar as if nothing had transpired at all. 

 

“Kinda late to eat out I think,” Logan said conversationally before he blew up a plume of smoke. 

 

“Um… yeah,” Scott said, looking back toward Nathan’s dad as the young man crouched over him. 

 

Logan followed his gaze and made a little unimpressed noise. “He won’t be talking much for a while. Give him a chance to set a decent example for that punk kid with the big mouth.” 

 

Scott just had to shake his head after a long moment. “Thought we were trying not to get arrested,” he said in a low whisper and with a smirk he couldn’t hide. 

 

Logan let out a sigh. “Yeah. Well. Extenuating circumstances. And I’m pretty sure he’s got more of a record than I do, considering … well. Mine’s  _ classified _ .” 

 

“Don’t know that counts,” Scott said, still unable to stop the smirk. 

 

“We’ll see,” Logan replied. “I’m not too worried. By the way - that  _ is _ the same jerk I dropped in the mud. No brains.” 

 

“I actually figured that one out on my own,” Scott nodded. “The way he was broadcasting it.”

 

“Then you know how long he’s been asking for it,” Logan said with just a touch of irritation in his voice before he snubbed out the cigar. 

 

The two of them reached the jeep, and loaded up Scott’s gear. Though it was pretty clear when they left the lot  that Nathan was still trying to revive his father. “Don’t worry. I just broke his jaw,” Logan told Scott. “Won’t interfere with his ability to work.” 

 

“Yeah, I’m sure you’d miss seeing him at the workplace,” Scott said with a smirk. 

 

“Probably wither away of loneliness,” Logan deadpanned. “Just like you’d stay up at night worrying about your mouthy teammate.” 

 

“Practice just wouldn’t be the same without him.” 

 

Logan just chuckled at him and the two of them headed off, though the next morning, Scott would be sorely disappointed if he was expecting to go camping again. 

 

“I know I said we’d do some winter camping, but it’s hunting season,” Logan said the next morning when Scott came out of his room. 

 

“Right,” Scott said with a yawn. “Probably not a good idea to go fishing.” 

 

“No, it’s probably fine, but -” Logan got up and returned with a long gun case that he laid down on the table and opened. Scott raised an eyebrow, looking over the top of the case as Logan pulled out the hunting rifle inside. “- I thought it might be a good idea to take you to the range  _ before  _ we went hunting.” 

 

“We’re going hunting?” Scott asked. “For deer?” 

 

“That’s the idea,” Logan agreed before he put the rifle away. “I’ve got enough ammunition to let you see how you like it,  _ and  _ get good, though I doubt you’ll need too much practice.” 

 

Scott smirked to himself and just tried to hide it - clearly enjoying the little complement. 

 

The two of them spent most of that weekend at the range - at longer and longer distances - and as Logan had suspected, Scott turned out to be a total crack shot once he got over the recoil and the noise. Of course he would be. The kid had a perfectionist streak that some people would love to monopolize on and use against him, but for this? Logan really didn’t see any harm in the kid knowing how to shoot. Truth be told, if he was going to be occasionally blasting things - a little aim would be useful. 

 

“You know, there are shooting competitions too,” Logan said quietly over his shoulder. “You’d probably clean up on that the way you’re going.” 

 

Scott paused for just a moment and turned to look at him, obviously thinking it over before he just reloaded and started shooting again - this time with a growing smirk. 

 

By the end of the weekend, Scott’s groupings were impressive, and certainly better than what was strictly necessary to hunt with. He spent most of the week buried in his studies and practice waiting for Friday to roll around. There was no game on the schedule and it was a half day to boot, so he was excited to get moving and into the woods for another weekend away from people. 

 

Scott grinned when he saw that Logan had already put the fishing gear in the back of the jeep in addition to the camping stuff and now the rifle too. It was shaping up to be a great time one way or another. 

 

On the way out, Logan told Scott what to watch for while they were hunting. Which tracks to follow, how to tell if they were fresh - how to read the terrain and work around it to get ahead of the deer - basically everything he’d need if he came across one. 

 

“If you can’t drop it - don’t take the shot,” Logan warned. “I can track ‘em, but I don’t want to have them suffer at all if we can help it. Bears are denned up, and there aren’t many wolves in this area. Nothing should bother you, so don’t worry about predators.” 

 

Scott just nodded to himself. “So we’re splitting up then?” 

 

“Just to start the hunt tomorrow,” Logan replied. “Don’t worry. As long as you don’t do something to get yourself in trouble, I can find you.” 

 

“Even if the snow’s gone?” 

 

“Even then,” Logan swore. “Just be careful about where you step.” 

 

They took the afternoon and the evening to decide on their plan of action for the hunt the next morning. Scott was loving it - even if it was just animals, there was a strategy to it, and he was enjoying the way that it was coming together. 

 

The area they were in was fairly rocky and covered in oak trees, mixed with areas of swamp - both of which were spots that the deer loved. The swamps offered plenty of cover and tender things in the water to eat while the oak trees had dropped all of their acorns and provided the wildlife with what amounted to a buffet - if nothing scared them out of the trees. 

 

They set up camp in a nice, quiet little area that was protected from the elements - even the snow in that spot was lighter - and the wind was a lot more still there. Quiet. Hidden. And once the fire got going - it was positively comfortable. 


	10. Hunting Season

As dawn broke in the north woods, Scott headed toward the ridge with a bright smile. It had snowed overnight - and every single branch and twig was coated in a frosty white powder. The birds and squirrels were just starting to wake up and the little lumberjack jays in the trees were a laugh as always. He smiled to himself watching the birds and their little wars before he started walking higher up the ridge- his reasoning being he could shoot down if he saw one below, and Logan was fine with sneaking through the wet, sticky mud. But when they started out, Scott had to look at him strangely when it was clear that Logan didn’t have a gun as he headed out into the trees.

But Scott didn’t put too much thought into it. He knew already that Logan had his own way of doing things, and odd as it might seem, they seemed to work pretty darn well for him, so he sure wasn’t going to argue with him about it.

Since it had snowed the night before, Scott was walking carefully through the woods, and even then as he tried to keep his footfalls silent, the snow squeaked under his boots as he worked his way up the ridge. The birds were cheerfully singing in the trees, and the squirrels were barking to each other as Scott went to find a good spot to sit still like Logan had told him to.

As he stepped into a circle of tall lodgepole pines he got the distinct feeling that he was being followed. He stopped and very slowly looked around himself, noting right away that the birds and squirrels had fallen silent. He frowned, knowing that something must have spooked them since the birds hadn’t slowed down their cheery songs earlier as he was walking.

He stayed still, just watching and listening for any flash of fur in the trees.But for the longest time,  he didn’t hear a thing but the beating of his own heart. He silently chastised himself for overthinking things. Again.

 _It’s just deer,_ he thought to himself. _No creepy pale faced weirdoes with glowing red … things. Just … deer._  He’d finally started to lower his rifle and move forward, still paying strict attention to his surroundings when he heard a couple of quick, heavy footsteps. He turned in time to see a monstrous wall of a man a split second before the rifle was wrenched from his hands and the guy tackled him.

 For just a second, Scott was simply scared silly by the attack before somehow it clicked that he’d been learning about this stuff with Logan. He raised his arms in defense for a block that, frustratingly, the blonde just powered through.

 “Oh, come on now, pipsqueak,” he almost purred out. “That kung-fu crap doesn’t mean a thing in the jungle. Not that you got a prayer of makin’ it out alive anyhow, do you?” The creep was chuckling low as the young man struggled. “Come on, gimmie your best shot, kid. Might as well.”

 Scott gritted his teeth as he _tried_ to do just that, at first doing more of what Logan had taught him. Then, when the pressure points only earned him a chuckle and nothing else, he took a blind swing and tried to kick the creep in the gut though it _still_ didn’t do anything, not really.

 “That might have actually been worthwhile if you’d had your skates on,” The stranger hissed.

 At that, Scott really started to panic as he realized that not only had this weirdo been watching him, but he couldn’t get out of the his grasp. As he leaned in, Scott felt his eyes go wide. “Leave me alone,” he ground out, trying to think of something, anything - he’d _kill_ for a headache at this point if it meant he could blast the guy backward, but he couldn’t figure _that_ out, either. No matter how hard he glared and concentrated and just halfway prayed it would _work_.

 “Awww,” the man said with a patronizing tone. “If only looks could kill.”  

 “I didn’t _do_ anything to you,” Scott said, just struggling for something, anything to get him out of it.

 “No?” he replied, one eyebrow raised as he readjusted his grip around Scott’s throat. “You keep the wrong kind of company, twiggy.”  All at once, Scott was pulled from the ground, clean off his feet and with an overly exaggerated slow motion move, the monster raised him up high and then slammed him back to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

 Down below the ridge, Logan _had_ been stalking a deer along the edges of the swamp when a familiar and entirely unwelcome scent hit his nose. He couldn’t tie it to anyone in particular. But it made his hackles stand on end and from past experience that just meant trouble. As the rancid scent of old blood, dirt, and heavy musk hit him fully, a rush of memories came to him - none of them good.

  _He was young. Older than Scott, but younger than he was now by a stretch. The town was small, the main street was muddy dirt and the only transportation was horse drawn. He remembered seeing his hands - bloodied and shaking as his chest heaved and he stammered into town, searching._

  _He pushed the door open and stepped into the bar to see a tall, broad blonde with his back to him. He hadn’t even gotten two words out before the monster started to chuckle to himself. “So you found your present, didja?” The man had said before he set his mug down._

  _“You killed her. Why?” Logan said, his voice shaking. “She didn’t do a damn thing to you!”_

  _“That’s what happens to squaws, boy. In particular those uppity enough to say no. I did you a favor, you know. That girl woulda left you hurtin’ sooner or later.” He turned to face Logan and the blonde’s smile turned into something far more wicked. “Happy Birthday, Runt.”_

  _After that, the fight just erupted - and the two of them were tooth and nail a match for each other, and in the end, after they’d bashed through the bar and half the town, well into the woods. He’d climbed up a sheer rock face and after another throw down in the middle of nowhere in the high country - Logan lost._

 Logan just stared into the swamp for a moment before rushing up toward the ridge - following the scent trail that had triggered that particular memory all the way up until he found him.

 The tall blonde was hulking over Scott, and though it didn’t look like he’d done much to hurt him, the kid was scared half out of his mind. And with good reason. The blonde drew his arm back, one hand holding Scott up by his shirt as the other was prepped to slice into him with the swing, and all at once, all Logan saw was red as he rushed him.

 Scott had more or less given up the idea of escape when a ringing _snikt!_ echoed the air, and a moment later, he heard the snarl of what had to be an angry animal - an instant before something hit his attacker hard enough to knock him off and away. It took Scott a moment to gather himself up enough to turn and watch, and then all he could do was just stare wide eyed as Logan and the tall blonde fought like enraged animals.

 Snarls and growls echoed the woods along with the flash of metal - always accentuated with fresh blood on the snow. The two men moved like lightning - striking and slashing at each other in a flurry of blood.

 It was nothing like any fight he’d ever seen before. Both of them fought as if they were possessed - and neither of them looked like they were willing to stop anytime soon. Clearly, it wasn’t a simple brawl - this looked to be a fight to the death - and both of them were all in.

 Which, was shocking enough on it’s own. But when the mostly even match up between them slipped, and it was bound to sooner or later, it was Logan that was on the losing end.

 The tall blonde had Logan’s head in both hands and Scott vaguely heard him say _something_ to Logan. It looked like it was all over. And all at once, Logan tried to rally and shouted out a ‘no’ as he wrestled to get loose from him.

 Scott had found his rifle and raised it - the blonde’s center mass in his sights and when he fired, Logan managed to throw the guy over his shoulder - though at a cost.

 The blonde monster went over the edge of the cliff they were brawling near - and as he did, a sickening _schrip!_ echoed the air and a massive splatter of blood stained the snow as Logan fell to his hands and knees.

 “Logan!” Scott shouted out as he rushed over to where the battered little man had fallen in the snow, which was splattered with a brilliant red. His throat was dry and his heart was pounding in his ears - there was _way_ too much blood. Too much for anyone to bounce back from, even Logan, who Scott was sure was tougher than usual, though he wasn’t sure how yet. But being that tough - it wasn’t going to make up for the fact that his blood was _everywhere_ , and he just looked worse the closer Scott got.

 The huge blonde had left gashes in patterns of five all over Logan’s body and across his face, having shredded through clothing and skin and muscle…

 Scott stopped and all but dropped into the snow when he got around to Logan’s front and saw the gaping hole in Logan’s neck and the blood that was dripping down with his guardians pulse. There was just … _no way_ … no way _anyone_ could bounce back from something like that.

 He could still taste the bitter sting of adrenaline in his mouth, and a buzzing ran down his spine - both of which had started when that huge guy had tackled him into the snow. But it wasn’t stopping as the terror just cranked up another five notches as Scott suddenly realized that the _one_ good thing that had happened to him since the plane crash was - dying in the middle of nowhere. And again - there wasn’t a thing Scott could do to stop it. All that helplessness welled up again - choking him like it did when he watched his parent’s plane crash. But somehow this seemed to be happening in slow motion.

 How Logan was even still breathing was a mystery - it had to be because he was tougher than normal people. But it couldn’t possibly last for long and Scott was honestly fighting back panicked tears - leftover from just about everything else on top of this - as he looked around the snow helplessly. Somehow, he managed to push those thoughts back though. There would be time to panic later. Right now … now he needed help.

 But he found himself holding his breath when he realized that they were too far out to _get_ help, and he didn’t know if it would even do any _good_. Especially since he wasn’t even sure where the heck they were.  

 Logan put a shaky hand over the mess of his neck and shook his head slowly. The boy’s scent was saturated with fear - easily discernable even on top of the blood that was dripping out of his nose.  He held up his other hand - wide open, fingers spread out as he hunched over on his knees. He was trying to figure out how the hell he could _tell_ Scott what he needed to do - which was to take the gun and look over the cliff. He cursed himself for a moment for not having told the boy sooner. How easy it could have been if he’d just told him when he’d had his little … incident. It took Logan a solid few minutes, but he finally managed to mouth out ‘gun’ and point to where the blonde had gone over.

 It took Scott a second to get it, as he was struggling against the numbness that was threatening to overtake him,  but when he did he looked wide-eyed as he grabbed the rifle and peered over the edge. It really didn’t help his level of panic at _all_ when he couldn’t see any sign of the blonde creep that had attacked them save for the raggedy blood trail that disappeared directly into the swamp.

 While Scott was looking over the edge, Logan took the opportunity to pop a claw and cut up what was left of his flannel - putting it into wide strips so he could try to pull himself together a little bit better. It would cut some of the healing time down if he could just get a decent breath - and nothing was going to seal up very quickly until his neck was in order. Which was pretty rotten because by his measure, it was going to take longer for that to stitch up than he’d like. Particularly with that idiot wandering the woods.

  _What the hell does he call himself?_ Logan wondered silently as he watched Scott. His brow was furrowed in thought as he worked, trying hard to place the face - and the stench.

 Once he got his fabric strips situated he cleaned his hands off in the snow as best he could one by one then wrapped the ruined shirt around his neck to try and hold it together so he could use his hands. For as small as it was, it was a wearing job and he had to just lean back in the snow when he was done, panting hard.

 Scott came back to him a few minutes later, rifle ready and watching for movement around them. Logan tried to ease his mind a little, glad when he could at least come clean with a whisper. “ _I heal._ ”

 Scott looked both surprised and relieved at the sound as he turned Logan’s way. “What?”

 Logan swallowed hard, his hand over his throat as he took a moment to try and let it stitch together before he tried again with just a bit more air behind it. “I _heal_. Fast.” In further explanation, he gestured to his face and some of the deeper claw marks that had been left behind - and he didn’t need to look for himself to know that they were already knitting themselves back together.

 Scott stared at Logan for a second, his mouth moving wordlessly before he let out a noise that was pure relief. “I thought it was just… you were tough or… invulnerable maybe.”

 But Logan just shook his head at that. “No.” He closed his eyes and just tried to breathe deeper. “Is he gone?”

 “I … think so,” Scott said. He turned Logan’s way. “Who was that, anyway?”

 “Not sure,” Logan admitted. “But I got a feeling we go way back - and he’s a recurring problem. Today especially. He’s … got a few names. I think ... “ _El Tigre,_ he thought to himself as another flash of a memory came to mind - one where he was working side by side with the big blonde that had just attacked them. _It was Cuba - we weren’t supposed to be there. Officially. Before he started going by Sabretooth._

 “His name’s Creed,” Logan rasped out as he shook his head a little bit. As much as he coveted those moments - those loose memories - it _hurt_ to remember.

 Scott just turned Logan’s way with a frown. “That’s not too comforting, seeing as he’s not at the bottom of that cliff,” he pointed out. “And why today?”

 “I doubt he’ll come back right away if you hit him square, which - from the damage I saw, you did,” Logan said, his voice nearly back to normal as he shrugged and looked down at the ground. “It’s my birthday. He’s done this before.”

 “ _Your birthd_ -” Scott let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped before he ran one hand though his hair and let it rest at the back of his neck. “Do you think he can find the cabin?” Scott asked, watching Logan warily and trying to give him more time to get his feet under him properly.

 Logan watched the young man for a moment before he answered. It didn’t look like he was taking this very well. “I wouldn’t put it past him. Especially  if he could find me here.” He started to push himself upright, ignoring the smaller cuts and scrapes that hadn’t closed up yet as they bled freely. Scott made a quick move as if to help him when Logan shook his head again, insisting he was fine, though after he was sitting upright, once again, he put his hand to his throat, winced and left the fabric in place. “I think our weekend’s shot, kid.”

 “No kidding,” Scott said, finally starting to feel the tiredness set in after the adrenaline crash. He let out a breath and looked Logan’s way. “So, what now?”

 “I’m not sticking around waiting for that jackass to come back,” Logan replied. “Pack up and head back. Pick a new hunting spot.”

 “And when he comes looking again?” Scott asked. He gestured at Logan. “I can’t… do ... that.”

 “I know,” he said, nodding. “ I need to remember how to focus. I let him push my buttons. Pushed me into the other side… where I don’t wanna go.”

 “He sorta strikes me as the kind who does that just by saying hi,” Scott said.

 “Exactly,” Logan agreed, as he got to his feet _finally,_ even if he was still leaning on  a tree. “I’ll let you know if we come across his trail on the way out,” Logan promised. “I don’t _just_ heal.”

 “Yeah, I think you’re going to need to expand on that, because that… I don’t think I was prepared for. At all,” Scott said with a weak smile.

 “It’s not exactly something that’s easy to break to someone,” Logan admitted as he stopped and took in a deep breath, his eyes closed as he took it in, trying to center himself a little.

 “Yeah, well, neither is the fact that I apparently shoot people by looking at them. Go figure.”

 “Right,” Logan said with a ghost of a smile, nodding once. “You want it now or later?”

 “You up to talking that much?” Scott asked with one eyebrow raised.

 “Sure. That much is fixed, and I owe you the explanation.” Logan said. “Waiting on some of the other stuff in there to finish up before I really get _moving_. Talking I can do while we wait. My body prioritizes the worst damage first.”

 “How bad… I mean, you can heal from _anything_ or…?”

 “So far, yeah,” Logan admitted with a frown. “I can remember being at Hiroshima…”

 “You _what_?” Scott turned to stare at him as Logan frowned deeper - the look now a somewhat familiar one to Scott when it seemed that Logan was making connections that weren’t there before.

 Logan let out a weary sigh as he thought of it. _It had been a beautiful hot, August morning. They’d slept in … and he was rudely interrupted by a shot to the head as he tried to get Atsuko to leave with him._ “I was in a fist fight with a guy that had killed a woman I was staying with when the bomb went off.” Logan said almost mechanically with a totally dispassionate expression on his face. “I don’t … know why I was there. Or how I knew him. But he wasn’t in my squadron. And he wasn’t Japanese.”

 Scott just stared at him for a moment longer before he blinked, nodded, and let out a breath. “Yeah… if you can come back from that…” He shook his head. “How old does that make you, anyway? You don’t… exactly… look old enough to remember that.”

 “I don’t know … I wasn’t young when I went in. It wasn’t my first war. And I can remember bits and pieces - flashes - first hand back to some trenches. Musta been the Great War... _mustard gas._ ”

 “And survived them all too,” Scott said, shaking his head.

 Logan let out a breath as the little flashes of suffering drifted away with the rest of his memory of them - obscured by God only knows what and just as hard to grasp onto as a ripple in the water. He just knew that he needed more to make sense of it - and he wasn’t going to get in in the woods. He tipped his head toward Scott and just started walking.

 “Apparently that’s just what I do,” Logan replied.

 “Well, I won’t tell anyone,” Scott said with a sharp sort of nod.

 Logan nodded and drew in a much deeper breath before he checked his neck again. Satisfied with as healed as he was, he removed the cloth and started sniffing around a bit, half crouched over.

 “What are you doing?” Scott asked, outright watching as Logan seemed to make a small circle and sniff around with his eyes closed.

 “Since you know what I am - no sense in hiding it. I’m tracking. I picked up a scent,” Logan said, following the invisible trail for a few dozen paces.

 “Is that what you do? I mean - on top of healing. You pick up scents?”

 “I have enhanced senses. All of them. My sense of smell outstrips a bloodhound,” Logan told him as he worked. “I can follow a scent trail in a downpour. That’s how I knew where to find you. I hit his stink and followed it here.”

 “And you could track … _me_ from just that?” Scott asked looking almost thoughtful.

 “Yep.”

 “How far?”

 Logan paused and turned to look at him for a moment. “Once I pick up the scent - anywhere.”

 “Yeah - thanks for that, by the way,” Scott said as he rubbed his neck. “I wanted to blast him, but I couldn’t… get it to _work_ , and then he took my gun.” he paused for a moment. “Wait. That guy - he knows you too?” He looked like he was working something out.

 “Oh yeah,” Logan replied.

 “Then he _knows_ what you can do.”

 Logan watched Scott with a little frown and simply nodded his head. “Yeah, he does.”

 “Then he knows you can track him … and probably where you’ll be going.”

 Logan had to nod his agreement. “Very likely.”

 “Well … what does _he_ do?” Scott asked as they started walking again.

 “He’s the made in China ripoff of me. I think he’s got all the same little quirks I do, the senses … healing. We’re the same … except for one thing,” Logan said. “But I don’t think it’s natural.” He looked very tired as he straightened his arm and popped the claws on one hand. “Thankfully - he doesn’t have these.”

 Scott stared at the claws in shock, though he was trying not to. “Right… yeah. He… doesn’t need those on top of everything else,” he muttered.

 “No,” Logan agreed before he retracted the claws. He frowned at his knuckles for a moment - the blood still flowing there was proof positive there was damage he couldn’t see. He picked a different trail back toward their campsite and decided to come totally clean. “I pulled you out of that place because I didn’t know what that guy was going to do to you, and I _know_ I was experimented on. Didn’t want you to be too.”

 “What kind of - does it have anything to do with why you can’t remember your past?”

 “Probably,” Logan admitted. “They covered my skeleton in Adamantium. The stuff is indestructible. I can’t remember anything solidly before that.”

 “They _what_?”

 “I’d show you but it would hurt,” Logan said with a grim smirk. “I don’t think that they could do _that_ to anyone but a healer - but….”

 “Who’s ‘they’?” Scott asked. “If there’s more than just that Essex creep… or that big blonde…”

 “I don’t remember enough of it. Just someone named Cornelius that answered to a guy they called ‘professor.’” He shook his head. “Things are real fuzzy with that stuff, to be honest.”

 “Yeah, but neither of those guys is Essex,” Scott pointed out.

 “No,” Logan agreed. “I would have tied the scent to him. If I even halfway know a name, I’ll pin it there, though he did smell familiar.”

 “So those two are still out there - d’you think they’re still operating or …?”

 At that, Logan paused and looked like he was thinking it over. “If they are - I’m not sure how they managed it,” he said slowly. “When I broke out - I destroyed their base on my way.”

 Scott nodded and looked a little relieved to hear it. “Good. They shouldn’t be doing that to _anyone_.”

 “How about I clean up and we get out of the woods?” Logan said after a long pause. “I could use a steak.”

“Yeah, sure,” Scott said with a quick nod.


	11. Game Changer

**Chapter Eleventy: Game Changer**

 When they got to their snow covered camp, they were surprised to see that it had been left untouched. However, there was a fresh set of tracks, and Logan couldn’t help but growl a little when they got there. As Scott packed up, Logan slid under the jeep to look it over - his paranoia showing clearly as he looked for explosives or a sheared brake line.

 “Well? We’re not going to blow up?” Scott asked, leaning over to see Logan.

 “No,” he said as he got out from under the Jeep. “I don’t think he had anything with him to use. Might actually think he finished the job too.”

 “If that’s the case, maybe he’ll leave us alone,” Scott said.

 “We can hope,” Logan replied, brushing the snow off of his jeans before he gave Scott an appraising look. “Wanna drive to the road?” He held out the keys and just waited for his answer.

 Scott couldn’t help the grin that started at the corner of his mouth, though he still tried to school his features into something a bit more reserved. “Yeah - sure,” he said, though his words totally obliterated his attempts to not look too excited.

 Once their gear was loaded - and it took longer than Scott realized with Logan wincing and having to stop from time to time - the two of them climbed into the Jeep. It was apparent suddenly _why_ Logan had asked him to drive when the older man simply leaned his seat back  and kept a hand pressed to the ribs on his left side - eyes closed.

 Scott frowned on watching him. He couldn’t see any injury - and he figured that Logan had healed … he’d looked healed anyhow. And if there was some internal damage - there would be bruising. He was frowning deeply when Logan turned his head in Scott’s direction and cracked open one tired eye. “Ready when you are, Slim.”

 “Right. I just …”

 “Just follow the trail,” Logan said. “We got enough gas that even if you find a way to get lost - we can get back out again. Though I doubt you’d get lost.” He closed his eyes again and Scott watched out of the corner of his eye as Logan shifted and crossed his arms over his stomach loosely.

 Scott did his best on the way out - and only _nearly_ stalled it once as Logan coached him through the clutching process with a little smile on his face. Scott had been careful on shifting to get the clutch just right - and by the time he got them to the road, he was honestly disappointed that he had to hand over the keys.

 “You can drive off road from here on out,” Logan promised as they switched spots. “At least until we get you your _licenses_.”

 “Thanks,” Scott said with a little grin, already looking forward to it. “I’ll probably get the one for the Jeep before flying, though.”

 “Why?” Logan asked. “You can start training for the flight one this summer.”

 “If we haven’t moved again,” Scott pointed out. “That Creed guy - you said he might be able to find the cabin.”

 “Yeah, but I’m not letting that jackass drive me off. And the flight hours you log in count no matter where you are,” Logan pointed out. “I asked Harry.”

 Scott didn’t look surprised that Logan had considered how to get him his license even if they had to move, the guy was thinking of everything. “I guess we’ll just have to see if we’re close enough to Harry,” Scott said with a shrug as they headed off down the road.

 The drive wasn’t terribly long, and the heater was kicking out enough that Logan insisted he didn’t want to ruin another shirt just by virtue of putting it on over the blood that was only half dried.

 But when they pulled into the cabin, he was swearing to himself for not doing it anyhow since it was clear that someone was waiting for them. Two  black, nondescript cars with government plates. “This can’t be good,” Logan said half under his breath, and trying hard not to growl, though he didn’t try to avoid it entirely. “You can stay here if you’d like,” he told Scott as he put the car in neutral but did not turn it off. “I’m going to see what the spooks want.”

 “Spooks?”

 “CIA. Probably.” He gave Scott an unreadable look before he slipped out of the car and toward the three black suited agents waiting for him, leaving Scott behind to wonder what kind of trouble Logan was going to get into for walking up to government agents with half dried blood all over himself.

 Logan didn’t look amused as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the three agents and though the youngest among them certainly looked a bit taken back by the blood still splattered on Logan’s face, not one of them was stupid enough to say anything about it.

 “Hello,” the lead agent said as the others looked on warily. “We’re glad to see you in good health, Logan. I’ll be honest, you dropped off of our radar for quite a while there.”

 “Because I didn’t want to be found,” Logan replied. “How do you know me?”

 “Oh,” the man said, turning toward the others. “You’re … pretty well known in the industry. Honestly. We need you to come in and make a statement on what happened in the woods today.” He gestured at Logan with a sweeping motion and his head tipped to the side. “Since .. it’s pretty obvious something happened.”

 Logan glanced down at the remnants of his bloodied shirt and then back up at the agents. “I had an accident.”

  “We’re well aware. We  picked up Victor Creed just a few miles down the road looking like hell warmed over,” the agent admitted. “So thank you. For … accidentally disemboweling him. That made it a lot easier to get him down.”

 “I can make a statement here,” Logan replied. “But it’d be short. ‘ _He was askin’ for it._ ’”

 “I’m sure he was,” the agent replied before offering his hand. “I’m Special Agent Clay Quartermain, of SHIELD, by the way. I should have been more clear. It’s not _me_ that wants your statement. If it was, I would have already chalked it up to long overdue karma and sent you a fruit basket in thanks for a job well done. I’m afraid though that the person that sent us requires that you come to him.”

 “I know how you government types work,” Logan replied, not even trying to hide the growl. “You got a beef with me, you can just get it off your chest now - but I’m not going anywhere with you until the kid is in safe hands. And I don’t mean yours.” He’d uncrossed his arms and his hands were at fists at his side. And for anyone that was paying any attention, it was easy to spot the dark purple bruising at the backs of his hands even through the blood that had dried there.

 “We don’t want to remove Mr. Summers from your custody, and we know that you don’t have anyone here to leave him with,” Quartermain replied frankly. “In fact, to expedite the whole process, we’re more than happy to bring him along - we won’t even separate the two of you - even for your meeting with Director Fury.”

 Logan paused at that and had to consider it, frowning slightly on hearing the name, but not quite placing it. He was sure he’d seen the name in the papers, but so far he hadn’t seen a picture of the head of SHIELD. “The director of SHIELD wants to talk to me?” Logan asked with a frown, and Quartermain simply nodded his head in response.

 A sinking feeling was creeping into Logan’s chest, and his ear twitched slightly as he listened harder. Though the three agents in front of him looked perfectly calm, their hearts were racing and the scent of fear was plain in the air. He turned his head to the side, glancing at Scott with his peripheral vision. The boy looked calm. He was getting better at hiding it.

 But then the wind shifted and for an instant, Logan’s nostrils flared as he caught the scent of military grade gun oil on the breeze. His focus locked onto the head Agent and the man took in a quick breath as Logan’s pupils constricted. “How many other agents have you got in the woods?” Logan asked. “Because their scent suits don’t work nearly as well as you’d like them to.”

 Quartermain took a moment to compose himself, obviously not expecting Logan to have caught that. “Ah ...more than I’m willing to admit to. It wasn’t my idea, but … it’s protocol in cases like this.”

 “Cases where the order is to bring me in no matter what,” Logan said flatly and as he glared at the three agents, the growl slipped loose. “There is a kid here. You can’t pull this crap with a kid here.” Logan’s gaze flitted toward the still running jeep for just an instant. It was pretty clear that his best case scenario was to take Scott along. But he wasn’t going to make the kid do anything of the sort. “It’s his call if he wants to go,” Logan said finally. “But you’re _not_ shooting me up in front of him.”

 “That’s not -” Quartermain started to say, but a second agent stepped forward cutting him off.

 “I’ll talk to him,” the second man said with an enigmatic sort of smile before he simply side stepped around Logan and headed toward the jeep. With a final glance Logan’s way, he knocked on the window and gave Scott a warm smile. “Hi there. Could you talk  for just  a moment, please?”

 Scott looked a little caught off guard before he slipped into more of a frown. He didn’t step out of the Jeep, but he did roll down the window and lean out of it slightly. “Alright,” he said cautiously.

 “I’m Special Agent Phil Coulson, from SHIELD” he said by way of introduction. “Your … friend has a pressing meeting to attend to. He’s not under arrest, I assure you. But he is a little reluctant to trust us. We won’t make you come along or stay behind. The choice is yours - but I feel as though I should tell you in the spirit of full disclosure that we have Victor Creed in custody, but there was intel that he wasn’t travelling alone. I can’t guarantee your full safety if you stay.” He turned toward the cabin and took in a deep breath. “I’d be happy to leave an agent with you, or even stay myself, but … I have to admit. We’re not very useful against trained mutant assassins.”

 “So you’re saying I can either come with you guys or get jumped again,” Scott summed up with a frown.

 “I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying the main headache you had to worry about in Victor Creed is not a problem. He’s already locked down in custody but that he may or may not have had a travelling companion,” Coulson said. “In fact, we’re not even certain how long Creed has been in the area or if his traveling companion was here with him willingly.”

 “He was here long enough to know that I’m playing Hockey,” Scott said, earning a raised eyebrow from Agent Coulson.

 “Then at least a few days then,” Coulson said, nodding. “Thank you for telling me.”

 “What do you want with Logan, anyway?” Scott asked, still not sure what to do, after everything Logan had told him.  There were three agents acting calm, but if they knew who and what Logan was - they’d have been stupid to show up with only those three. No. There had to be more of them.

 “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say,” Coulson replied. “I _do_ know that the meeting Logan is being called into is with the Director of SHIELD. If that means anything.”

 Scott frowned on hearing the news. “He isn’t - he hasn’t done _anything_ wrong.”

 “That would depend entirely on who you asked,” Coulson said with a little smile. “But it’s my understanding that Director Fury is not in the camp of ‘detain’ at this point.”

 “I want to stay with him,” Scott said. He frowned at Coulson as he added, “I don’t just mean waiting here. He _hasn’t_ done anything wrong, and I’ll tell anyone so. Even the director.”

 “Then whenever you’re ready, Mr. Summers,” Coulson replied.

 Scott paused, let out a breath, and then turned off the engine, set the brake, and slowly got out of the car. “Alright,” he said, still cautious.

 “Don’t worry,” Coulson said. “I’m sure the two of you will be back to your version of normal in no time.”

 Scott pulled the key from the ignition and closed the door before he followed Coulson back to where Logan was still looking like he was ready to gut Quartermain. The three agents led the way to their vehicles where Logan and Scott simply climbed in the back of one, though it was clear to Scott that this probably wasn’t the first time Logan had been through this little song and dance.

 The drive was short and silent all the way to a wide open field, where the agents leading them took them from the car to the middle of the field - where a cloaked aircraft seemed to materialize out of thin air for them to climb into.

 And although not even the pilot spoke on the flight, Logan was just waiting for someone to say one wrong word and give him the excuse he wanted to put an end to their stupidity.

 The flight was fairly short, and Scott was surprised that when they stepped out of the transport craft that the noise level was much higher than he’d expected. It still took him a moment to realize _where_ he was, and when he did - he couldn’t believe how blase Logan was acting to the sights around them.

 The helicarrier was _huge_ , and Scott couldn’t help it that he lost his breath just looking out over it. This was like nothing he’d ever seen in the air, and it would have been huge and clunky if it wasn’t so elegant. He tried to hide his stare - he didn’t want to look like just some kid on a tour - but it was hard to do.

 The path to the director’s office was fairly straightforward, though there were at least a dozen security checkpoints - three of which were with metal detectors that had absolute fits when Logan went through - and the guards on them had worse fits when he just shoved them away from himself. The one that _did_ manage to grab a hold of his arm figured out how much of a mistake that was when Logan grabbed his hand and gave it a quick twist - that crunched loudly as Logan told him in a hushed tone “No touching.”

 Quartermain caught on fast and as they reached the next checkpoint made sure to hurry ahead and tell the men on post to keep their hands to themselves as it was clear their guest wasn’t having any part of their ‘security’ nonsense.

 When they reached the director’s office, the simple looking steel door opened up to a wide sweeping room that overlooked the flight deck, and Quartermain was quick to announce them as they entered. The guard inside the door took a step toward Logan, but backed off quickly when Logan skipped the ‘normal’ act and outright growled at him low.

 “You’re a hard man to find,” Fury commented as Logan came to a stop in front of his desk. The man looked pleased - though to be honest, it was a look Logan wasn’t used to seeing. At least … it didn’t come off as something malicious. Yet. “We’ve been trying to find you since you resigned from Department H.”

 “Not interested,” Logan replied, finally crossing his arms again.

 “I didn’t offer anything yet,” Fury replied, though he didn’t look surprised in the least. “Maybe you should hear me out before you turn it down.”

 “Fine. Tell me what you want so I can say no and point out how much of a waste of time this was,” Logan replied evenly.

 Fury outright chuckled. “We’d like to hire you - we’re putting together a new team, and I need to know that the guys on it are top shelf.”

 “I just quit a gig like that, and they offered to have me lead,” Logan pointed out. 

“I already have a leader,” Fury said. “I was looking for a tracker and if you don’t mind me pointing it out - a wrecking ball. We saw what you did in that brawl with The Hulk and your record is impeccable. Second to none.”

“What’s your point?” Logan asked with a scowl.

“My point is that you did more in that little scrap than even I thought you were capable of,” Fury said. “And I thought I knew your limits already.”

Logan frowned deeper and started to look Fury over more carefully. “What do you know?” he asked.

“I know that you’re calm under fire. Doesn’t matter how hot it gets. And I know that you don’t remember me, which is disappointing to say the least. I can’t, however, say that I’m surprised. I think disappointed might be the word I’m looking for,” Fury said, shaking his head. “Considering everything your last ‘employer’ did to you.” He pulled out a cigar and lit it, taking a seat in the chair behind his desk as Logan’s scowl slipped away into something more concentrated. “Just know that you and I? We have history. Good history. Agree to work for me and I might just give you a few clues that your other teammate can’t.”

Logan narrowed his eyes further and looked like he was ready to start a brawl on the spot when a hidden door opened and in walked a tall, broad blonde who took one look at the situation and broke into a wide smile.

“So you’re here?” the guy asked as he came over to clap Logan on the shoulder. “What, did they have you on ice too? You haven’t aged a day! Where have you been holed up?”

“Ice? No…” Logan said,taking a step back as he looked up at him with a look of clear confusion. “How do you know me?”

“Come on, Logan. I know there was a lot going on during the war, but I like to think I made a little more than a passing impression,” the blonde teased.

“Yeah, I know who _you_ are, but - you’re going to need to help me out here,” Logan said. “How do you know who _I_ am?”

“He doesn’t remember any of it,” Fury supplied. “Multiple and extensive mind wipes.” Logan’s gaze shot over to Fury - the confusion and alarm clear on his features while the blond just pushed forward, not catching Logan’s discontent.

“Oh,” the blonde said, looking a little crestfallen. “Well maybe I can help with that. There was the fight you started with Baron Von Strucker in Madripoor in ‘41 for starters. Or, we could talk about how I found you in Poland a year later - they were calling you prisoner zero in that concentration camp.”

Logan looked like he was thinking it over. “There seemed to be a lot of upset nazis in Poland,” Logan muttered, smirking in spite of himself at the memory. “Couldn’t take a little whistling. And the other one - you were trying to get Natalia out of there. Before they made her pledge to Hydra.”

Steve was nodding with a little smile. “Yeah. Among other things. Are you still going by Wolverine?”

Logan just shrugged. “I guess so. Haven’t found another name that fit better.” He turned and looked at Fury for a moment. “Spain?”

But the answer was given more by Steve than Fury as he just grinned wider and let out a bark of a laugh. “See? We can get around memory mods.”

“Hold on, blondie,” Logan said, stepping out from under Steve’s arm. “I’m not sure I want to. What’s the deal here?”

The other men in the room just froze for a moment. It was clear that they thought that Steve Rogers would be more than enough to bait him in. And Scott was clearly of the same mind, his eyes wide and totally star-struck, mouthing ‘That’s Captain America’ at Logan like he couldn’t believe what was happening.

“This is a new team. A new adventure,” Steve said, almost frowning before he drew himself up, chest out and a stern look on his face as his eyes flashed. “For the safety and security of our country.”

Logan watched Steve for a moment with a matching frown before his lip curled up the slightest. “I’m Canadian.”

For just a moment, Steve’s mouth tightened further as if it was an irritation, but all at once, he simply couldn’t hide the smirk that stretched into a smile. “I know. I’m asking anyway.”

 “It won’t be too long,” Fury said. “A couple weeks at most, and of course - after that, if you like the way we run things, I’d like you to consider joining SHIELD.”

 Logan looked between the two men and over to Scott for just a moment. “Yeah, but you’re skipping over something important here,” Logan said. “I can’t pull the kid out of school just because you two _yea-hoos_ wanna go play toy soldier and I’m sure as hell not gonna leave him alone with Victor Creed wandering the woods with a vendetta.”

 Scott looked surprised and almost reluctant to be dragged into the conversation - especially when both Fury and Steve glanced his way.  “Victor Creed is currently tucked away in a secure SHIELD facility. He’s not going anywhere, but if you’re concerned about the boy, we can keep an agent or two with him for the duration,” Fury offered quickly. “To keep him safe.”

 “Why do I not believe you?” Logan challenged.

 “Because you’re a pig headed pain in the ass,” Fury said with a bit of heat. “And you know as well as I do that Creed isn’t who you need to worry about.”

 “You think you can keep Department H _and_ Department K off his back?” Logan asked as Steve just shook his head in disbelief. “They’d go to a few lengths to get some leverage and you know it.” Logan was already shaking his head ‘no’. “While we’re on it -  how do I know you won’t just hang onto him to try to force me into doing what you want? No. I don’t think so. I want outta this floatin’ tin can.”

 “That’s not how SHIELD works, Logan,” Steve said with a look of pure disbelief.

 “Maybe not for you, Cap, you’re a national treasure,” Logan replied. “Me? I’m a dangerous mutant. Ain’t that right, director? Rules aren’t the same for you as they are for me. And you know it.”

 “Don’t let _me_ stop you,” Scott said at last, cutting in with a halfway awestruck and halfway scared tone. “I’m fine.”

 “I’m not going along with it for a helluva lot more reasons than just your hockey schedule,” Logan replied before he turned to Fury. “How long have you been director, Nicholas J Fury? At least what … seven or eight years?”  

 Fury looked reluctant to answer, but nodded his head. “At least,” he agreed through gritted teeth.

 “Then you knew what that Departments H & K did and you haven’t pulled the plug on ‘em? How many others went through those doors - and for how long?” Logan replied. “Or is it just that SHIELD doesn’t give a damn about experimentation on mutants until they need to make use of the results?”

 “SHIELD makes it a point _not_ to get involved in the politics,” Fury replied. “Let the chips fall where they will. It’s not our job to intervene.”

 Steve looked floored for a moment as he stared between Fury and Logan - who were just having an honest to God staredown. “Huh,” Logan said finally as he took a step back, shaking his head. “Not what it says with your motto. Good luck with your mission.” With that he just turned toward the door. “C’mon, Scotty. I’ve got no business here.”

Scott did a bit of a double take as Logan headed out, torn more when Steve started to follow them at a jog. “Logan, wait,” Steve said. “I need the back up on this one _outside_ of the Avengers.”

“Then I suggest you talk to Fury about it,” Logan said. “Only reason he isn’t being a pain to me is because he knows what I can do and what they did to me to make me worse. Or better, depending on which side of the trigger you are.”

“That … doesn’t sound right,” Steve said, frowning deeply as the three of them came to a stop near the door that lead to the flight deck.

“Read the file before you tell me that, Cap,” Logan said. “I know how both of our governments classify me. And it’s not a citizen _or_ a soldier.”

“I think I will read that file,” Steve said, looking disturbed. “And I’m going to come find you when I’m done.”

 “Good. You can tell me what it says. Seems like you’ve got the clearance for it when I don’t.”

 At that, Cap just stopped and watched as Logan and Scott stepped out onto the flight deck, where Coulson and Quartermain were waiting, though Scott couldn’t help but look back at Steve on the way out.

 “I take it you didn’t like Director Fury’s offer?” Quartermain asked as he held the hatch open for Logan and Scott to climb in.

 “He didn’t quite get that far,” Logan said. “We had a slight difference of opinion.”

 “That can be a recurring problem,” Quartermain agreed.

 Coulson and Quartermain shared a look as the pilot started the engines. “Be sure you buckle in,” Coulson said to Scott before he took a seat across from him. “I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t like what he had to say.”

Logan just let out a little huff and crossed his arms, refusing to speak to either of the agents on the way back and still seething and on edge. If SHIELD was anything like what he was used to dealing with - this little encounter likely was not the end.


	12. War Buddies

**Chapter 12:War Buddies**

* * *

As promised, the SHIELD agents took Logan and Scott right back to their cabin, where nothing seemed to have been touched or looked out of place, though Coulson was sure to tell them they'd be in touch before the agents left.

Logan watched them leave with a glare then let out a little grown as he headed first to the jeep, where he found a small electronic device under the steering column and then into the house. Scott watched with a confused frown as Logan quickly and methodically worked his way through the place until he found the half a dozen or so bugs that he had known the spies would leave behind.

He didn't say anything to Scott until he was done - and then he stopped and showed him what he had in his hand. He gave Scott a significant look and then carefully picked his hand up closer to his mouth. "This is not the way to win my trust, Fury. And your men sure as hell don't know what they're doing." He looked completely irritated as he carefully filled a glass with water then dropped them all into it. "Stupid spy garbage …"

Logan set the waterglass with the bugs on the kitchen windowsill and headed out to unload the jeep - since they hadn't gotten a chance to do that before they left. But it only left Scott to his thoughts for a moment.

When Logan got back, though, he had to ask, "Do you think they'll get mad at… all that?" He wasn't sure how to sum up everything that had happened, but some of the insinuations had him worried; he had to admit.

"What the hell've they got to get mad about?" Logan asked as he dropped the first load of gear on the couch. "I just pointed out what they already knew. If they didn't want to waste the jet fuel, they should have made a damn phone call." He shook his head and turned to go back outside. "You comin'?"

Scott tipped his head to the side for a second before he just had to let out all his breath, trotting behind him to catch up. "Yeah, but - I know you don't remember everything? But that was Captain America."

"I know," Logan said with a little nod as he started handing Scott some of the gear. "I know who he is. I just don't really remember what we did. But what I do remember of the guy? He won't let it sit without figuring out what I meant. He'll dig into it and when he does, we'll find out if he really means all that crap he was always spouting."

"You think he'll come back?" Scott asked,arranging the sleeping bags and trying hard not to sound hopeful.

"He said he would, so …" Logan shrugged openly before he shouldered the last bag and closed the door on the Jeep. "I guess we'll see." He picked up the last of their gear and headed back toward the cabin, considering the whole conversation over. But Scott still had concerns.

"D'you think you'll go with him - if it's not SHIELD?"

"I don't know, Slim," Logan said. "He'll have to do some real convincing to get me to do anything for the government again."

"But - if it's not SHIELD -" Scott just shook his head. "If it's just because I might miss hockey, I can walk - it's fine."

"That's not what my problem is," Logan said, shaking his head. "It's a little bigger than that - and I'm not leaving you with SHIELD just so I can go dink around with Cap and have him try and twist the war stories."

"Yeah, I got that part," Scott said. "I'm just saying - I can figure something out. It kinda sounded … I mean, Captain America wants you to help him."

Logan let out a heavy sigh. "I don't remember everything - but I also know that he doesn't have the whole story either." He waved his hand and headed for the kitchen. "Let him figure it out and then decide if he still wants me around, okay? Right now - it's a non-issue."

"You think he won't want a mutant on his team?" Scott looked truly upset at the idea.

"It's not the mutant part that has me concerned," Logan told him. "He knew something was different about me then. Just didn't question it considering the circumstances. But … I'm not the same person he knew back in the war."

"Well, yeah - people change. I don't see how that should change anything _big_ ," Scott pointed out. "Memory or no, aren't you still basically the same? I mean, that's what I was told - personality stays the same even with amnesia."

"I don't know. Maybe," Logan admitted quieter than he had been before. "Guess we won't worry about it unless he comes knockin'."

"Yeah, guess so," Scott said.

"Just … don't worry about it for right now," Logan said. "If they really _do_ want to get my help, they'll make it worth my time." With that, Logan got to his feet and headed for his room, and Scott just sat there, thinking it all over for a while.

* * *

It was a solid ten days - Scott had counted - since the incident with SHIELD when there was a knock at the door of the cabin, and Scott was the one closest, so he was the one to see Steve first.

"Hi, Scott," Steve said, sounding somehow casual and serious all at once. "Is Logan around?"

Scott looked honestly surprised, not only at being addressed but at the fact that Steve had remembered him. _By name_. "Um. Yeah, he's … come on in; he should be here in a minute."

"Thanks," Steve said with a little smirk. "Is he in the house - or out … doing whatever he does? I only ask because I brought beer." He held up the six pack as if Scott couldn't see it on his own and Scott had to rise an eyebrow at the socially awkward gesture.

"He ... just got in from work, so - give him a minute to… you know. Finish up," Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Right. Thanks," Steve said before he just found a seat and set the six pack down. "So you're the newest kid, huh?"

"The… what, sorry?"

"That might not be entirely accurate," Steve said with a wave before he covered his face with one hand and muttered something under his breath that Scott just didn't catch. "Back in the war Logan kind of went out of his way to help a kid." He shook his head and smiled to himself. "The healing thing … kind of explains all of that, really. He shielded her with his body - took a lot of lead to keep her safe. I thought he was dead. He _looked_ dead - well. Until he showed up and saved our butts." He looked up at Scott as the nostalgic smile slipped from his features and he extended a hand just slightly. "But that .. might have been situational. War. Ninjas and Nazis..." Steve shrugged. "I'm … not really very good at talking to anyone under enlistment age. But I'm trying. Sorry."

"No, it's alright," Scott said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. "That… I guess that's kind of accurate then. I just go by Scott, though."

"Well, already you're turning out better than that one," Steve said with a little smirk. "She ended up being something else. We're … still dealing with that one, actually. She was an awful cute kid though." Steve paused for a moment with a fond smile that seemed to slip away when he thought about it harder. "You're … not a spy are you?"

"If I was, I'd be pretty bad at it. Didn't even know what to do in the last fight I was in," Scott said with a shrug, but Steve smirked a little wider his way.

"Honestly, I don't know anyone outside of your friend that really knows what to do in _that_ fight," Steve said. "And I'd rather you weren't a child spy. That's just … well it's just not right."

"I really only play hockey, I swear," Scott said with a smirk.

Steve started to smile. "Yeah? You sure you're not Canadian too?"

"I'm from Alaska," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Well at least that's in your favor, though - _that_ was a shock when I woke up. The extra two states," Steve said before Logan came in from the back room, shaking his head at Steve. Steve took a deep breath and held it as he pointed to his offering. "I brought beer," Steve said, trying for a smile. "To talk."

"Well that's a hell of a lot better than SHIELD agents," Logan replied as he took a beer from Cap and dropped down in the chair next to him. "Thought you didn't drink."

"I've found a few reasons to," Steve replied before he opened a bottle for himself. Logan just nodded and tipped his beer back, draining a fair bit out of the little brown bottle.

"So. What did you find out? Anything interesting?"

Steve let out a slow breath and tipped his head slightly. "Yeah, I did. Most of what I saw was just proof that SHIELD should have stepped in sooner, on your behalf," Steve said, the frown returning. "I can't believe it. I had hoped nothing like this would be an issue again but … I have to admit. You … have a serious gripe with both the US and Canada right now."

"You'll have to tell me about it some time," Logan said. "I know my contacts in Canada aren't going to come through for me. Not for lack of tryin' though. They just don't have the weight to make it happen and I'm pretty sure Fury would just as soon keep it from me if I can be of use to whatever game he's playin'."

"About that, Logan," Steve said as he turned his empty beer bottle over in his hands. "You help me with this mission and I'll make sure you get your file whether Fury likes it or not."

Logan just watched him for a moment before he looked over at Scott who hastily tried to look like he was studying his History book instead of eavesdropping. The hopeful expression on Scott's face was a dead giveaway of what the boy thought … even if he _hadn't_ made his opinion on dealing with Captain America crystal clear. "How long does it last, where would we be headed, and what the hell is it? The monsters nowadays aren't as straightforward as Hitler and his brainwashed disciples."

"No kidding," Steve let out a sigh. "Seems like it wasn't that long ago that you'd just go when I asked- ready to dive in for the sake of the fight," he said before he glanced over at Scott. "I have someone lined up to stick with Scott if you need to know he's safe from SHIELD."

Logan glanced over at Scott, who returned the look for a second and gave him an expectant, raised eyebrows expression. "Does Fury know you're offering me my file?" Logan asked, cutting right to it.

"No," Steve replied. "That's just something you _need_ to know. He _should_ have given it to you when you walked in." Steve glanced over at Scott again and tipped his head down, lowering his voice - unsure if Scott was allowed to know. "It says they did all kinds of tests on top of the memory alterations. Experiments. And that they… bonded _adamantium_ to your skeleton." When Logan didn't seem surprised or show any further reaction Steve continued. "The file says that you _volunteered_ for it." He was watching as Logan just stared back at him in open shock.

"No way in hell," Logan countered. "Why would I …"

"I didn't think so," Steve said. "But that's what they're saying officially. At least, what they've even got. There are a lot of gaps in the files." He shook his head slowly for a moment before he looked up at Logan. "I've never seen so much black in a file before, Logan."

Logan looked irritated as Steve continued. "Even with as much redacted as there is, there's still a _lot_ of bad stuff and nightmare fuel in that file." He looked over to Logan with a sad sort of look on his face. "You've been busy while I've been frozen. Your service records - or some of them - they're extensive. Canada, United States, CIA … Weapons Plus - and Canada doesn't want to come clean on anything but the official military record."

Logan looked disgusted as he set his beer down and leaned back in his chair to cross his arms. "You sure it was just Canada?"

Steve held his breath again and finally shook his head. "No," he said. "No it doesn't look like it was just Canada. From what I could find, Weapons plus was … well." He let out a sigh and just let his gaze drift up from the beer label he was picking off with his thumbnail to meet Logan's icy blue stare. "It was started because of what they did to _me._ And they pushed for you all because of your - " Steve stopped short. "It's … it's in the file. I'm going to Latveria. I need a solid back up outside of the Avengers and I think you're the right man for the job."

"And no Avengers because you need to keep their noses clean," Logan surmised.

"Latveria has been making aggressive moves," Steve said. "We haven't been able to get any diplomats in to get a better feel for what's going on. They've refused to talk to anyone."

"That's a tiny country," Logan pointed out with a frown. "You really think they can be a threat to the US?"

"Considering who's running it, yes," Steve said frankly. "We're not officially at war, but we did find a Latverian spy in the pentagon two weeks ago and before we could question him, he broke the cyanide capsule in his tooth. Felt a little too familiar to brush it off as a one off."

Logan was quiet along side him for a while as they just sat in silence. It went on long enough that Scott had openly stopped pretending to read and was just watching the two of them wondering what was going on as they worked through the beer.

When it was all gone - the two men just looked at each other for a moment. "Alright," Logan said finally. "Who have you got in mind to watch his back from SHIELD and when do we leave? "

"I have a friend in mind," Steve said. "One of mine. Not part of SHIELD- and don't say for sure that you'll go until you negotiate with Fury. Something tells me you can get more than your file if you play your cards right."

"What are you thinking?" Logan asked, frowning slightly.

"All the necessary documents you need to keep from having to sneak around and be worried about getting picked up," Steve said. "At least - that's what I'd do."

"Think he can have 'em waiting when we get back?" Logan asked.

"Between you and me? He's already got them made up. Just needs to file a few things to make it official," Steve said in a quiet tone. "But you know he's going to pull that governmental …"

"The '… see what I can do about it, no promises routine'," Logan agreed as both of them were nodding. "Yeah, he seems the type."

"Try to act surprised when he tells you he has your uniform from your last fight," Steve said. "Procured from Department H."

"Perfect. So _they_ know where to look for me too," Logan said before he looked over at Scott. "Your friend better be able to hold off those creeps too."

"Oh, he can," Steve said with a growing smile. "He _absolutely_ can."

"So. Now or later?" Steve asked. "We can go now, or take a few days and I'll be back with my friend - and I can tell Fury I wore you down to talking to him again. With a little luck, we'll be in and out before Christmas."

"Break happens in a week," Scott said quietly, trying to help. "So … nowhere I'd need to be. Just … thought I'd throw that out there."

"We can go deal with Fury now - get your conditions hammered out and straightened up," Steve said. "And then I'll get my friend to come back with us to hang out with Scott."

Logan let out a breath and looked over at Scott. "Might as well get it over with. Ready to go see Fury again?"

He looked between the two of them with a little frown, considering what the two of them had been doing for the last hour or so. "Is that a good idea right now?" Scott asked, glancing at the empty beer bottles.

But it was Steve that broke into a grin and started to chuckle as he put his hands on his hips. "We - can't really get drunk, Scott. His … ah … _abilities_ , and the serum they gave me - it's just not possible."

"Not without a helluva lot of effort anyhow," Logan corrected, which got Steve to look his way with raised eyebrows.

"How much effort?" Steve asked quietly.

"More'n it's worth most of the time," Logan replied, though the two of them were already headed to the door, with Scott following right behind them. "I thought you didn't drink, Cap."

The old war hero broke out into a chuckle and all at once, Scott was grinning again. Something amazing was going to happen - he just knew it. And whatever it was? He was going to get front row seats.


	13. Deals and Arrangements

Whatever Scott had been expecting out of his _second_ trip to the Helicarrier - it had not been for him to just be sitting quietly with Captain America while his self appointed guardian went nose to nose with the director of SHIELD - loudly, colorfully, and … with markedly _positive_ results. Not that it looked positive to start with.

By the time that Logan and Fury had stopped the rapid fire back and forth - Fury was red faced and fuming - but smiling in spite of it. Logan was glaring at him until the director offered him a cigar and pulled out a folder full of paperwork.

"It all gets very civil from here," Steve said in a whisper to Scott as Logan and Fury started muttering quietly as they signed documents.

It took another ten minutes just with the vast amount of paperwork before the two of them finally stopped, stepped back, and Fury offered Logan his hand to shake. "Your uniform's waiting for you in the next room over. I'd like the two of you to get to work as quickly as possible."

Logan did a fine job of looking surprised to hear it. "You sure you got my size?"

Fury gave him a dry look, though it was clear that the Director was unsure if Logan was joking or not. "It's one of the ones that Department H had made for you," Fury said. "We removed the tracking devices they had in them. We have three, two of which you have access to."

"And the third?"

"We're keeping it to make more," Fury replied. "Go on - change. You can trust Cap with the boy for five minutes, can't you?"

Logan turned to look at the two of them and Scott very discreetly nodded, earning a little frown from Logan before he went the way Fury directed to get changed.

"You can leave him with me, Rogers. Time's wasting," Fury said, hardly looking up as he looked over the paperwork one more time, adding his own signatures to a few of them in several places.

Steve and Scott shared a glance and Steve rested a hand on Scott's shoulder. "You know what? I told Logan I had it covered. So just have him meet me on the flight deck." He turned toward Scott and jerked his chin toward the door with a whispered 'come on' before the two of them high tailed it out of Fury's office without giving the director a chance to argue it.

"So … my friend that will be staying with you," Steve said slowly. "He's a little different, but perfectly capable of keeping _anyone_ off your case." They came to a stop outside of a small room. "I'll take you to him in just a few minutes, but right now, I need to get ready too. Can you keep an eye out for Logan for me? I'll be ten minutes. Tops."

"Yeah, I should be fine," Scott said with a nod, though as soon as the words left his mouth he found himself wondering if Captain America could spot a lie as quickly as Logan could.

"Great," Steve replied with his most winning smile before he stepped into the room for a moment, only to stick his head out a few seconds later. "I don't suppose you can you hold something for me while I finish up …it'll keep the guards from bothering you."

"Sure," Scott said almost automatically, though he couldn't help goggling when Steve's response was just to hand out his shield. _The_ Captain America shield. He didn't notice that Steve was smirking when he saw Scott's reaction - and he didn't hear the door close as Captain Rogers went back to suiting up.

Scott was holding the striped shield with the single star almost reverently. It was lighter than he had expected it to be, and smaller somehow too, but he couldn't stop grinning as he ran his hands over the edges, not even hearing it himself when a whispered ' _wow_ ' slipped out.

Steve took his time, and when he finally stepped out into the hall again, he was in the full uniform - except the helmet. He gave Scott a little smirk. "Ready to head back home with Thor?"

Scott was still grinning as he handed over the shield, though it took a second for the rest of that to sink in. "With who now?" he asked in a mild double-take.

"Logan said it had to be someone that could take down Sabretooth, SHIELD, or Department H," Steve replied. "So … I figure Thor ought to be more than able to do it."

"Yeah… no kidding," Scott said, a bit wide-eyed. "Are you sure he doesn't, I don't know, have something else he _should_ be doing?"

"It's either him or Janet VanDyne," Steve said. "The choice is yours, but I gotta warn you. Pick Jan and she'll mother hen you half to death."

Scott held up both hands. "Yeah, no thanks. I can take care of myself anyway." His response got a genuine smile from Steve that Scott noticed went all the way to his eyes - where at the very corners, Steve had the slightest of little laugh lines. _Something you never see in the pictures,_ Scott thought. _Or the mask hides it. Too bad. He looks more 'real' like this._

"Relax," Steve told him with a little grin as he rested his hand on Scott's shoulder to steer him and they headed over to meet up with Logan. "With Logan cutting the way, we'll be done in no time. Best guide to find a trail I ever saw."

"Yeah, he is," Scott said with a nod and a grin, though it was something else seeing Logan in a brightly colored uniform - complete with black stripes on a yellow base and not in his usual blue jeans and flannel overshirt.

"You sure this isn't a throw down?" Logan asked Steve as they reached him. He was brushing off his shoulder as if some tiny piece of dust or hair was resting there and bothering him. "Last time I wore this thing I got my backside handed to me."

"It's not," Steve said. "And you did not. I saw the film, Logan. You did more than hold your own, now come on. Scott needs to meet Thor - he'll be keeping him company while we're gone."

"Isn't he going to stand out a little bit?" Logan asked. "Not too many capes where we're at."

Steve just chuckled as they came up on the tall, well dressed - _very_ muscled blonde man. "He knows how to go under the radar sometimes too." With that, he gestured to the big guy in front of them. "Scott and Logan - meet Thor - though for the time being, you can call him Dr. Blake."

Scott stared at the huge blonde for a moment and broke into an almost uneasy smile. "Um, hi."

Thor just gave him a warm smile and a little wave back, sizing up the young man himself.

But Logan had looked up at Thor with a skeptical expression before he broke the awkward silence. "Screw this up and it's your head, Goldilocks," he said just before he and Steve gave Scott a nod and headed off to one of the transports, leaving Scott on his own.

"Don't worry," Thor said as he dropped a heavy hand on Scott's shoulder. "I won't be in your way."

Scott glanced up at him for a moment, but had zero clue as to how to handle this situation or what was going on, so instead of speaking, he turned his attention to the single aircraft as it taxied it's way over to the slingshot on the flight deck - and a few moments later, Scott watched wide eyed, holding his breath as his guardian and _Captain America_ were launched off to do God only knows what in some tiny foreign country.

Before Scott realized they needed to do something though, Tho- _Dr. Blake_ steered him toward their own ride, and within the hour, he was awkwardly showing his temporary guardian around the cabin. "It's not much, but it does the trick," Scott said, shrugging openly.

To his surprise, the tall blonde seemed perfectly at home, and just grinned openly at him as he began to explore the place.

Scott simply couldn't believe that this was what his life was turning into. He had no idea if it was good or bad - but … considering what he was dealing with before all this started he wasn't going to be one to complain. Not when vampire like monsters were replaced with honest to God superheroes.

He almost held his breath at the thought. Is that what Logan was too? A superhero? His eyebrows went high on his forehead and he shook his head to clear the thought. He wasn't sure what to call him, but he was pretty sure Logan wouldn't like that title tacked on to him. Not yet anyhow.

* * *

The first few days in the North woods were a bit awkward with his temporary custodian, as Scott had fully expected it would be. What he didn't expect was how _involved_ Dr. Blake would be in his day to day goings on. Like - how he seemed to find his way to hockey practice after school every day. That … was not something that Scott was prepared for. Sure, Logan went to games … but practice?

"It's … really not necessary to stay and watch my practices," Scott said as he looked up at the tall blonde. "I know it's not that exciting."

"Oh, but I was told my role was to protect you from those that would cause you harm," Blake replied with a wide grin, his chest puffed out - as if a roving pack of Frost Giants might come bursting into the arena at any moment. "And I don't yet understand this frozen game of yours."

"Okay, well ...that is a decent reason I guess ... " Scott just let his statement fall as he stepped out onto the ice and couldn't help but glance up at where the overly large man had taken up his watch.

As he had guessed - and hoped would not be the case, fifteen minutes into practice, it started. "Who's your new babysitter, Summers," Nathan asked over his shoulder.

"He's an uncle," Scott lied smoothly.

"Yeah? Doesn't look a thing like you."

Scott's cheeks burned for a moment, and he bit the inside of his cheek. That … was a good point. Thor looked nothing like him. But neither did Logan - and it was just going to be a thing, he was sure - this creep trying to get under his skin for not having a real parent. He frowned at his own thought as Nathan's eyes glittered.

The rival knew he was getting to him. He started to circle Scott in a wide, sweeping arc, moving in for another rotten snark about his family. Scott was bracing himself - ready to hit the guy, when someone thankfully intervened.

"The only one in your family that you look like is the backside of the family dog, Nathan," the team captain said as he cut between the two of them in warm ups. "Lay off. We're here to play. Not make crappy remarks to people we're supposed to _work_ with." He gave Scott a little that Scott returned and went back to practice.

For the remainder of the practice, Scott kept his head down, and did a fine job of schooling his expression to an entirely neutral one. And though it was mostly drills, Scott was pretty worn out by the time practice was over, and he was glad to get all of his gear off. He just … wasn't prepared for Thor.

The Asgardian was grinning broadly when he met Scott and cheerfully clapped his hand on the boy's shoulder, nearly crumpling him under the weight, loudly complimenting him on his 'command of the ice', though Scott was pretty sure that it was a bigger deal in Asgard than it was here.

At any rate, _Dr. Blake_ and his Asgardian quirks were drawing just a tiny bit of attention. Not so much as to get him in trouble, but enough. It was also clear quickly to Nathan and Scott was sure that soon, by extension, his big jerk father would both realize that Logan wasn't in town. "Can't hide forever, Summers," Nathan said in passing.


	14. Waiting for Trouble

School had been dragging as it always seemed to do before a big holiday break, and without his usual guardian, Scott was lost even more than before he'd met Logan. All of the kids were making plans for Christmas, and even the teachers were caught up in the swirl of excitement.

It was just hard for Scott to focus - and even harder for him to even do his work than usual - particularly when the English teacher decided that they were going to free write a two page essay on 'family traditions' for the upcoming holiday.

While the other kids dove in, excited for their easy 'A', Scott just stared at the paper as he remembered Christmases as a child. Warm fires, warm family - plenty of hot cocoa and homemade cookies as they watched movies and played board games after the holiday festivities.

Even in the orphanage they'd have the kids share in a meal before they 'celebrated'. But this was his first year without all that, and the way that the days were slipping by, Scott wondered if he was going to end up spending the holiday with Thor.

He frowned to himself, wondering if the Asgardian knew much about Christmas. And then he simply looked up as the question of how much eggnog Thor could down popped into his head. If it was anything like how he drank coffee - or how quickly he cleaned out Logan's liquor cabinet it might actually be an interesting question to pose.

"Do you need help getting started, Scott?" the teacher asked, jarring him from his thoughts. "You look a little lost. What are you thinking about?"

He blushed slightly and then tried to bury the smirk. "Um … eggnog," he said finally when it was clear that the teacher wasn't letting him go without an answer.

"Oh, that's a good place to start," she replied with a warm smile, clueless as to what had the boy looking so amused.

* * *

Scott realized belatedly after the start of his last hockey game before Christmas break that after flat out disappearing for a week with no explanation, it was entirely probable that Logan no longer had a job when he got back. With that hanging over his head suddenly, Scott started to wonder how long they could stay where they were if he didn't have an income.

He glanced over at Dr. Blake shortly after stealing the puck and passing it to his captain - and then getting bashed into the wall - and found himself wondering if the Avengers got _paid._

He'd heard the buzz that was creeping its way into the school. Mostly from Nathan - about how his father was looking to prove himself since he never got a chance to face Logan one on one, but it wasn't just Nathan's dad that was talking that way. Plenty of other kids' dads were planning to get into the ring as soon as the next fight came up - which, incidentally was shortly after the new year. The talk was all over town. No one could have missed the buzz on it.

But his attention wasdrawn back in the game at the coach's whistle leaving Scott to get back to what he was _supposed_ to be doing.

To Scott's amazement, Nathan did manage to keep his mouth shut - at least to Scott for the duration of the game - and the group of them were working _really well_ when Nathan got down to business. It was the first time Scott had actually seen the guy apply himself - and he was pretty darn good, too.

With the end of the game and their clear win under their belts, and a fair amount of praise from the coach with a lot of enthusiastic 'attaboy's to Nathan, Scott was more than happy to join in with the team in a genuine appreciation of the guy's skills. But of course, that wasn't enough for Nathan and as Scott tried to be a team player - Nathan took a swing and knocked Scott flat on the ice before walking away.

It took him a moment to process it, but before Nathan could get off the ice, Scott quickly got to his feet and made a rush to slam into him at full speed. The two of them started duking it out, though Nathan was quickly irritated when he couldn't hit anything that wasn't padded.

The fight was a quick one - if nothing else, the team didn't want to see Scott get hurt - though they were surprised to see that Scott wasn't the one on the losing end - and every time that Nathan tried to get to his feet, Scott neatly knocked him off his skates and back onto the ice.

It kept going that way until the coach was involved -and both boys were promptly told to stay home for the next practice anyhow. "Until you two learn to work together, you can both just take a break - and Nathan, if you can't drop the attitude, you can just not show up at all."

The older boy was obviously put off by the coach, and with an almost vengeful glare Scott's way, he gathered up his gear and left.

Scott however … he took his time. He wasn't really too keen on the chances of meeting up with Nathan in the locker room. Not because he was worried about another fight - no. He was pretty sure that he could take the creep after everything he had learned … no. He was worried that he'd let the team down by getting both of them kicked off before the next game.

Dr. Blake was waiting for him when he got out of the locker room and he hoisted Scott's gear effortlessly over his shoulder as they headed to the jeep.

It was going to be a long week or so - and Scott found himself looking forward to seeing Logan again and getting back to normal. He thought they might have some trouble with Nathan's father, but apparently, Dr. Blake was deterrent enough, even with as cheerful as he was. However, the little wave he'd given toward the surly father and son combo on the way out of the lot might have been a tiny bit inflammatory. To some.

Another couple of days passed and Scott was _not_ enjoying his weekend as much as he knew he would be if Logan had been there. There wasn't enough ice for him to learn how to set up a tip up … but he would have at least been _hunting_ or something … not just … watching Thor be so … _foreign_ when they went out to the steakhouse in town. Scott shrunk down on himself a bit as Thor seemed to be drawing a crowd. He'd never seen anyone eat like that … or … that much. It was almost mesmerizing.

As Scott tried to _not_ stare at the God of Thunder, his attention was drawn by a few grown men at the bar - discussing the upcoming and highly illegal cage fight. It was supposed to be bigger than the last one - higher stakes … higher buy in … and there was no shortage of guys that wanted another shot at Logan.

"... no way are we lettin' him walk outta that cage."

"Little shrimp is gonna need to be carried out, if anything."

"Hey. I want to see him leave on a damn stretcher. After he cheated last time?"

The consensus was in, and it only had Scott more worried as he knew that on it's own just being gone for a week would mean no job on Logan's return, and he was sure that Logan would take a shot at what he called 'easy money'. Scott frowned deeper on hearing the chatter and went back to playing with his food. He had no idea when Logan would be done with his little side trip with Captain America and with talk the way it was - he almost hoped it would be a longer trip. So that Logan would miss the chance at these guys ganging up on him. Even if that meant he'd be alone for Christmas with Thor.

Scott shook his head, his imagination running wild on what an Asgardian Christmas must be like … particularly since he looked it up and … Thor's dad had big things to do with that earthly tradition. He smirked to himself and barely whispered out "So. Santa really is real. Just … on a different planet. Must be that h has Heimdall keep an eye out on the rotten kids." He shook his head of the thought - and focused back on his task at hand, which was much more serious than mental images of Thor being a candy cane jockey …

"Right," he said to himself, refocusing. On the off chance that Logan was back in time for that fight, he wanted to make sure he had time to scout ahead and see what the story was with that bar and the people involved. But getting an hour to himself with the holly jolly thunder God was well- that was next to impossible. If nothing else because the guy only had one thing to occupy his thoughts while he was there, and that was Scott.

But, Scott reminded himself, he _was_ a teenager. And teenagers were known to find themselves a little trouble from time to time. Of course … he didn't want _trouble._ He just wanted to know where this fight was going to happen … and how long it took for him to get there from the cabin. And … probably a general idea of how many people were signing up.

So instead of listening to Dr. Blake regale him with tales of the feud with his wayward brother, Scott just began to nod when he thought Dr. Blake needed him to as he concentrated instead on listening to what the men at the bar were saying.

After a good twenty minutes, he had something to work with - the name of the bar. It wasn't one that was in town - or Scott would have seen it in passing.

Before Thor could draw much more attention - and Scott noticed that there was plenty of people watching him - they quickly made their way back to the cabin. He couldn't wait to get a few minutes alone - and as soon as they were back, he made a beeline for the kitchen to snag the phonebook and then disappeared into his room.

"Got homework, thanks for dinner," Scott called out before he closed the door and dropped onto his bed. It took him all of two minutes to look up the place once he was alone in his room - and the address was on the outskirts of town. _Of course it is,_ he thought to himself. _Can't possibly be somewhere easy for me to get to._ But already, Scott was working on a plan - a way to get out there … and a way to see what kind of competition Logan was _sure_ to find himself up against.

For the next week solid, Scott paid attention whenever he saw little groups of men gathered up. For a secret fight - it sure was something that everyone seemed to know about. And if what he was hearing was right, then this fight - unlike the other one - was pulling in fighters from a lot further out than their area and the crews of lumbermen in the woods.

"There's no way the cops don't know about this," Scott said under his breath as he watched a group of men openly discussing it in daylight. But all that did was bring up a new pack of concerns for him. Arrests would be made if the cops showed up. That much he was sure of. Couldn't have a secret fight that size and not draw police interest.

 _There is no way … no_ way _he can jump into a fight like this without knowing what he's getting into_ , Scott thought to himself, frowning. He couldn't fight back everyone, right? It just didn't make sense. What if that monstrosity of a blonde hair ball managed to get free from SHIELD custody and got into the fight too? Scott was sure that _he_ wouldn't bother trying to hide the fact that he was a mutant.

Scott slowed his pace as concern started to overtake the rest of his thoughts. What if Logan got arrested? What if they figured out he was a mutant? Would they charge Logan with kidnapping him? Would they send him back to the orphanage? Would SHIELD do anything to stop it if it did come down to that?

For a moment, Scott just stood there letting all his worries run wild until a blonde girl from a year ahead of him bumped into him, and he automatically apologized, not noticing the appraising look she gave him - or the flirty little smile before she continued on her way. How could he have seen that when he had so much on his mind?

He couldn't worry about police or what the fighters _wanted_. He tried to remind himself that there had to be RULES. Or how would they knew who had won? He let out a little sound of frustration. None of those thoughts would help him until he could find out how hard it was going to be to get to the bar - and of course, that could be a waste of time if Logan wasn't back by then. He turned to look at the calendar and the corner of his mouth tightened up. Christmas eve was tomorrow. And Captain Rogers had said the mission should only have been a week. It was _well_ past that now.

It was still weighing heavy on his mind when he returned to the cabin after his walk. He shook his head to clear his thoughts again and raised one hand to his temple. He must have been getting hit too hard lately. Shaking his head like that had never given him any troubles, but he felt almost dizzy after that. He frowned deeper and dropped his backpack next to the front door and took off his ruby quartz glasses to press his thumb between his eyes and lean on the door. Another headache was building.

"It's not unusual for a mission to run long if it goes into somewhere like Latveria," Thor said suddenly, and Scott turned to look at the tall blonde - who seemed to be watching football and chuckling as one of the linebackers flipped entirely over his opponent's head. "They will be back soon enough."

Scott frowned at that and put the glasses back on before he pulled out the map he had taken from the library. It wasn't much, but it did have the full layout of the area and it was complete with address blocks on the streets. It would be exactly what he needed to figure out how to get to the bar without actually having to go there ahead of time.


	15. Holly Jolly Time

It was early morning on Christmas Day when Scott heard Thor get up in the wee hours. He didn't think too much about it … just not expecting anything special going on. Particularly since the news reports coming out of the region that Logan and Captain Rogers had disappeared to sounded _calm_ and very much like the negotiations for an American embassy were going well.

So, instead of paying strict attention, Scott rolled over and pulled his blanket up to his nose as he half burrowed himself deeper into his bed - where it was perfectly warm and comfortable. Until of course he heard more than one voice talking. He turned toward his door and just waited and listened hard to see if he could catch the conversation, though when he heard Captain Rogers chuckling under his breath, he couldn't help but smile to himself.

He had no idea if whatever going on with Cap and Logan was going to last - but Scott kind of hoped little drop ins by Avengers were going to be at least an occasional thing. Unless of course - like several of the dreams he'd had since leaving Nebraska were true … and all of this was a dream. But Thor's laugh brought him back to his new reality - the man was louder than should be possible. Particularly when he was in high spirits.

Scott let out a sigh of near contentment. No dream. They'd made it back, and apparently whatever they'd set out to do - they'd done their job and gotten away clean. He allowed himself a small smile and just tried to get comfortable, but he couldn't fall asleep. Not when he had so many questions on what had happened. It had been a solid _two weeks_ , after all.

But eventually, Scott did manage to go to sleep - mostly. As soon as he heard the coffee pot beeping a few hours later, he hurried to get up and see what had happened. When he came down from his room though, he was not expecting to see Captain Rogers in the kitchen and Logan passed out on the couch.

Steve gave him a tired kind of smile and gestured to have a seat. "Do you drink coffee?" he asked as quietly as he could and glancing Logan's way, making sure his old partner was asleep still - though he knew with the scent of the coffee filling the little cabin that wasn't going to last long.

"Not really, no," Scott said as he took a seat at the kitchen table all the same, though Steve had to smile at him when he saw how quiet Scott was trying to be too. Scott watched as Steve got himself a cup of coffee and sat down to drink it - sugar and milk - as opposed to Logan's straight black. Scott sat in silence, not saying a word until Steve had gotten through the better part of his first cup.

"You're a smart kid," Steve said, nodding to himself finally. "No questions before the first cup is gone, and I know you have to have some."

Scott smirked the tiniest bit and relaxed. This … wasn't as tough as he thought it would be. "Is that allowed?" Scott asked. "The questions - because yes. I do have them."

Steve shook his head lightly and shrugged one shoulder. "I think … your chances of getting a straight answer are better with me than with Logan," Steve said. "I actually know how to tell mission stories and when he tells a story it's so short …" he shook his head and smiled at his coffee cup. "Ask him and you'll see what I mean."

Scott smirked wider. "Okay - well. Then I guess what were you guys doing in Latveria?"

Steve's grin just grew a little wider. "Well, son, I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Not really. But - I _can_ tell you that we got done what we set out to do." He leaned forward in his chair. "And maybe next time we get together I can tell you more about it."

Scott raised one eyebrow as the question fell from his lips. "So you'll be back? Did Logan join SHIELD?"

At that Steve glanced toward Logan and shook his head slightly. "I don't think he's decided on that just yet," Steve said. "But yeah, I'll see you two again. I'm sure of it. We work well together."

Scott smirked and looked down at his hands for a moment, nothing to add that he thought wouldn't get him in trouble, and to be honest, he was pretty happy just … sitting with his favorite superhero as he had his coffee.

"Oh, before I forget," Steve said suddenly as he set his coffee mug down and got up. "I got something for you. You know. For sharing your Wolverine with me." Steve gave him a little flash of a grin as he made his way to where a couple of bags were resting by the front door, pausing when he was halfway back as he watched Logan sleep. After a tense moment, he quickly closed the distance to where Scott was at the table. "I didn't really have time to do any actual shopping …or wrap anything."

He gave Scott an almost sheepish look before he just handed him the bag. "Sorry. It's not much - just some SHIELD gear. A few things I figure you might have some fun with…."

Scott just gave him an openly surprised look before he opened up the bag to pull out exactly that - a few SHIELD shirts - too big to fit him, of course; along with a few Captain America tidbits mixed in … but most interesting was the high tech looking goggles in the bottom of the bag. It was clear Scott wasn't sure what they were when he pulled them out - but Steve was grinning.

"Night vision goggles," he said excitedly. "It can be pitch black and you can see everything."

Scott couldn't hide the smile as Steve started to show him how they worked, though after he inspected the heavy goggles he had to ask. "Where did you get these?"

"Oh," Steve said, his smile falling to the wayside for a moment as he gestured to the glasses with one hand and rested his free hand on the back of his neck with a shrug. "Well. They … I … they're from the helicarrier. We used them on our mission." He gave Scott a tiny smile maybe a second later than he should have. "Okay. so I might have … _liberated_ it from the helicarrier. Fury'll never miss it," he said with a dismissive wave before he picked his mug up and just grinned Scott's way.

"Thanks," Scott said, a little more than a bit shell shocked.

Logan got up not long after that while Scott was still smiling at the goggles and the other gear. He reached over to mess up Scott's hair on the way to get his coffee. Once he'd gotten his mug, he unceremoniously just dropped into a chair nearby - honestly getting a kick out of watching the kid try to figure out the goggles. But that wasn't as long lived as he'd hoped as halfway through his coffee, Logan had to frown to himself wondering how useful the goggles would be - and for how long.

He decided, wisely, to keep his questions to himself and just let the kid enjoy himself, though he wasn't surprised in the least to hear from Scott that Heather had already sent a few packages for them. "I put them by the fireplace," Scott said. "Since she _did_ say not to open them until today."

"Yeah, I can't imagine she'd let the day pass," Logan said with a nod, staying to his coffee for a while as Cap finally seemed awake enough to let slip the non-vital parts of their mission as he started telling stories to a completely transfixed Scott.

The odd little group shared a pretty quiet breakfast - and plenty of coffee before finally, Steve wished them both a Merry Christmas and bowed out, though he promised to be back soon.

Logan didn't say much after Steve left before he headed to his room and started rifling through the bag he'd brought in with him the night before. The mission had gone well - and Fury had held up his end of the bargain. Steve too. It might not have felt much like a holiday thing to do, but Logan just needed to see what that intel folder held and he was just waiting for Steve to head out before he got into it.

"Did he give you that file?" Scott asked from Logan's door, obviously concerned that Steve might have somehow been unable to get around Fury.

Logan glanced up and just nodded before laying the thick file down in front of him - and then he took a second, much lighter file out of the bag and went through that one first.

Scott tipped his head to the side, a little frown on his face as he watched Logan go through the thin file, nodding to himself and checking - and double checking … something. He went through it twice, then Scott saw he was holding a passport in his hand. A little touch of panic hit him - he'd thought after all this time that he wouldn't have to worry about things like that. He tried to reason with himself that it was from the mission. Obviously he and Steve had to have gotten some kind of official identification … something to help them to-

Logan was looking right at Scott - the thin file held out to him with the passport again tucked inside. He didn't say a word, but when Scott didn't move to take the file he gave him a look that clearly shouted 'go on'.

Scott uncrossed his arms quickly and took a few steps forward only to hesitate for an instant and take the file. He was staring at it, wondering what it was, but by the time he'd looked up at Logan, he was already starting on the much thicker volume in front of himself.

Scott frowned and opened the file - and the first thing he did was look at the passport. He was shocked to see his own face staring up from the page with his name and an address that he didn't recognize … _200 Park Avenue New York, New York._ He looked over at Logan again, but didn't say anything yet. He was starting to get concerned … that maybe Logan was handing him off to someone in New York City- without warning him.

That is, until he saw the rest of the paperwork. He blinked at it a few times, not sure what he was seeing. Especially since so very much of it was doubled up. And the addresses didn't line up right. "I don't understand what I'm looking at," Scott admitted, though he hated to interrupt Logan as he was obviously having a moment of his own.

"It's all there. Everything's just a little more complicated since I'm not an American," Logan said distractedly, though it was pretty clear that Logan was shell shocked in his own right. "Had to cover all the bases … make it official. Get the worry about getting picked up out of the way. And set up a 'safe' permanent address..and of course, Fury and Cap insisted I get some of my papers a little bit easier for them to handle in the meantime ..." Logan was so wrapped up in what he was reading that he completely missed the _look_ on Scott's face when he realized what the file contained.

Scott just stared back at Logan for a moment in pure shock then went back to the file. He glanced at the papers, then back to Logan - who looked like he was finding out some bad news before Scott slowly backed out of the room. He was at a total loss for words. His heart was hammering in his ears and he felt almost dizzy - or like he was going to pass out. One of the other.

Scott took the file folder into the living room and sat down on the couch, reading through the paperwork more carefully this time. His hands shook slightly as he started to put the pieces together. He didn't even notice the slow, uncontrollable grin that was stretching across his face until he let out a quiet little laugh of disbelief, though he quickly covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to hide it. _No one_ wanted kids his age. And yet - the papers were all in order. Right there in his own two hands. It was all official.

Several long, quiet minutes passed before Logan had finally realized that Scott had left the room. His head was swimming with what he'd been given - namely his service records for Canada, the US, and the CIA that outlined where he'd been for various wars and the years of service with each. His medical records - with one single paper that designated him as 'Weapon X' before the file broke down into precisely what procedures had been done to him - including multiple and extensive mind wipes, that the science division in charge of the 'project' were proud to report " _...at our best work our doctors have reduced Logan beyond even speech - let alone knowing his own name. Though repeated treatments have been necessary to maintain compliance …_ " With a sick sort of feeling, he put that particular paper away and went instead to the back of the thick file.

He looked that small envelope full of goodies over quickly. Of course there was all the necessary paperwork to allow him to travel as freely as Scott. And that was what pulled him out of his numbness. He had a _kid_ to take care of - and that kid had just disappeared to the other room on seeing that the adoption papers were final and filed with all the proper powers that be.

He closed the file in his lap and got up to see how bad the damage was, wondering how much of his own past would be something to inform the kid of. And when he saw Scott - in shock - just staring at the papers with one hand over his mouth, he was sure he'd screwed up. Of course he did.

"I should have talked to you first," Logan said. "Shouldn't have sprung that on you." He took in a deep breath as he thought about the contents of his own file, and the way Fury kept asking him if he was _sure_ he wanted to take over on the boy legally. It had him wondering if he'd just completely screwed the kid over, particularly with the paperwork that Fury was trying to sneak past the Canadian officials right now. Either way, it was too late now. Unless ...Scott wanted out. And he sure as hell wouldn't blame him if he did. "But .. it's done. Unless you don't ..."

Logan just shook his head and let that train of thought just run away. No. He knew he wouldn't just walk away from the kid if he could help it. Not entirely. "I'm watching out for you either way."

Scott finally uncovered his mouth so Logan could see that the kid couldn't stop grinning, though it was slightly tempered by Logan's hesitation. "I mean, if you're alright with it…" Scott said, halfway hedging.

Logan frowned at him for just an instant. "Of course I'm alright with it - it was my idea. I just - don't want you to think you don't have a choice in it." He gestured to the papers. "The legal side anyhow. The me watching out - you're stuck."

The kid couldn't hide the grin even though he tried, though he also couldn't come up with anything else to say for a long moment before he just set the papers down in front of him. "So. Did… you find what you were looking for?" he asked.

Logan tipped his head to the side and found his way over to a chair, once again feling like human trash. "Well. I found _some_ answers. Doesn't really bode well though when SHIELD can't find much."

"Well, you said yourself SHIELD doesn't exactly keep up with, well, anything mutant-related unless… they can use it," Scott said.

"Which is why they even had what they did," Logan pointed out.

"It's still a place to start," Scott said. "Maybe we can figure the rest out from there."

"Maybe," Logan agreed as he thought it over, though he really didn't want to dwell on at the moment if he could avoid it. "Can probably look into it when we go see Harry."

"Which we can do now," Scott said with a little grin down at the passport.

"Had to make it a little easier anyhow," Logan said. "Not that it's hard to sneak into Canada or anything."

"Yeah, well, it does make things easier not worrying about getting arrested," Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Logan tipped his head to the passport in Scott's hands. "Cap's idea - that address will take you to him if there's a problem."

"Yeah, I was going to ask why New York," Scott admitted, though the thought of Captain America personally having his back didn't do a thing to squash that smile down like Scott was trying _so hard to do_.

"I just wanted a back up," Logan replied. "Kind of a 'all else fails' situation." He gestured toward Heather's boxes. "You might want to see what she sent you before she calls."

"There's some for you too," Scott pointed out as he pushed one of the boxes Logan's way.

Logan took it but let out a little chuckle. "It's the same thing every year," he said before he got it open to reveal a pair of red and black flannel shirts. "She must like me in red."

Scott smirked his way as he pulled out a few shirts of his own - though his weren't red, but blue. And, at the bottom of a box, there was a small chess set that he picked up with a grin. "Do you play?" he asked Logan.

"I know how," Logan replied with a nod.

"Nate and I used to play all the time," Scott said with a little smile. "We didn't have anything this nice, though."

"Rules are the same no matter how nice it is," Logan pointed out before he let out a sigh. "Set it up. We can probably get a few games in before it's time to burn some steaks."

At that, Scott broke into a grin and nodded, already unwrapping the chess set to set out the carved pieces.


	16. Busted

New Year's came and went without any real fanfare. Logan and Scott did, however finally get out to do some ice fishing before school started up. And though Scott was happy to get his line in the water again - he wasn't exactly tickled with their bare bones setup. He should have known. It wasn't like Logan was really big on gear anyhow- so to find that the man's idea of a perfectly workable tip up was one sitting on open ice, totally unprotected from the wind and weather should not have been a surprise.

Still, he didn't feel right about asking for an ice shanty. Not when it hadn't passed Scott's notice that Logan had not gone back to work since his return from his secret adventure that Logan had refused to tell him about. Captain Rogers was right. His storytelling skills when he _didn't_ want to discuss something was absolutely abysmal. He didn't really feel like he could even bring up the issue of money to Logan either. Not yet. Maybe not ever. At least - not until he could contribute too.

But Scott knew something was going to have to happen. It had been over a month since Logan had worked with the crew and Scott did _not_ want to see Logan go into that stupid fight bracket again.

On top of that, it had been pretty clear to Scott when they were in the woods after the attack that Logan _felt_ the pain plenty. He _had_ to … the way Logan was wincing as he'd addressed his injuries was not something Scott was going to forget any time soon. He couldn't imagine that level of pain - or how the hell Logan had managed to just stay awake through it. There was a reason most people didn't live through injuries like that, and Scott was convinced that he'd seen Logan flinch from time to time as if one of his healed wounds was still hurting. But he didn't feel comfortable asking much about that either.

Learning that Logan was a mutant was both freeing but also made things a lot rougher to deal with in other ways. Where was the line of what was okay to ask and what wasn't? How … personal was it considered to ask questions on his particular mutation… it wasn't even like the laser face thing he did … not really. It seemed _awfully_ personal. And awkward. And for as curious as Scott was ….

"Hmm," Logan said suddenly, a flyer in his hand that he'd picked up with the mail. Scott glanced up quickly, trying to decide the best way to approach the subject without crossing any lines. Or … maybe crossing them a little bit. But before he could, Logan dropped the flyer in the trash and just went about his business.

Scott let out a breath of relief and went back to his over break reading assignment until Logan spoke up. "Probably gonna miss the game next weekend," he said casually, though Scott knew exactly what the trouble was.

"Weekend job in the woods?" Scott asked hopefully - since, rumor was out that the lumber crews were going to be moving again while the ground was frozen solid.

"Not yet, no. Not 'til they get moving again," Logan said - and that at least got a little breath of relief out of Scott. That meant that Logan was at least going back to work, so ….

"Then what's going on?" Scott asked with a frown, hoping that the honesty policy was a two way street.

"Got another fight bracket lined up," Logan said in an unconcerned tone. "Don't worry about it though. It's not going to be a big deal."

And there was the lie. "That's really not what the word is around town," Scott said. "I know a lot of those guys are looking to get back at you."

Logan just shrugged one shoulder. "They can want a lot of things," he said. "Doesn't mean it's gonna happen."

"You don't know that you'll win for sure," Scott said, but then immediately straightened up when Logan turned around to give him the full power of a frown.

"Yes I do," Logan argued. "And I know how to make it _look_ good too. Just - don't worry about it." He gave him a little crooked smile before he went back to the fridge and pulled out two beers - and a coke for Scott then sat down at the table with him where they were just sitting down to dinner.

"Tell you what, if it isn't too bad I'll go to the game. I just don't want to show my pretty face after beatin' the crap outta those other guys. It's more of a 'lay low' thing than an 'I'll be hurtin'' kind of thing," Logan clarified. "Just don't worry about it for now, alright?"

Scott watched him for a moment, but couldn't find the angle to argue - not yet. Not that he was giving up. He needed to figure out a better angle than what he had available to him right then. And now was not the time to go digging.

* * *

The new semester started up with a rush - it was like going from zero to sixty in five seconds and Scott barely had time to think, let alone formulate a plan on getting Logan to back off of the cage fight.

But it was after he got back home that Scott really got knocked for a loop when seemingly out of the blue, he started getting notes tucked into his backpack asking all kinds of seemingly benign questions.

_Mind if I watch practice?_

_I could use a tutor for math, if you have time._

_How about pizza after the game?_

The only trouble was that the notes were never signed, and so far, Scott had yet to catch the mystery girl. It was starting to throw him off his game. He had no idea when the girl had slipped them into his bag, and he was getting paranoid about it.

He started searching the crowd during practice. The team had done pretty well this season, and as a result, more and more of the student body was showing to practices - wanting to support their classmates and show a little school spirit. But so far - not one smiling girl in the stands seemed to be watching anyone in particular.

The practice was going well. But of course, the whole team was just ready to call it a night by the time the coach gave them the day before the game off - rest up, he'd said. 'Be fresh for Saturday', he'd warned … of course, at that, half the team looked at each other guiltily, since more than one of them was planning to go and at least _watch_ the fights Friday night - and those that were going had permission … something that Scott knew better than to ask about.

 _What's that he was saying to Heather? 'Better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission?'_ Scott thought to himself, smirking as he knew damn well that was _not_ what Logan meant.

By the time Logan had headed out, Scott had figured out his plan. He knew that Logan was heading right for the fights - entry fee and a little spare cash in hand. He also knew that he had time to get there … even though the fights were set to start at eight, he knew that the chances of Logan being out right at the beginning were slim to none - so he just headed out to take the five mile hike to get there.

It was bitterly cold as Scott walked down the dark, forested roads - and more than once he was sure he saw something bigger than a coyote on the fringes of the trees, but he just kept walking - and cars kept passing him by, until he heard someone coming up behind him that was slowing down.

He took a deep breath and pointedly tipped his head down and kept walking … even as the lights drew nearer and the truck slowed to a crawl. He could feel the tips of his ears turning hot, as he was sure this had to be Nathan and his buddy - until a decidedly feminine voice echoed into the night. "Hey, you need a ride?" the girl called out. "I'm headed out to watch the fight - if you're headed that way, you don't gotta walk."

He turned her way and realized quickly that the girl in the pick up truck was alone - mercifully. "Yea- yeah, actually," Scott stammered. "That'd be great. Thanks." He gave her an awkward smile and climbed into the truck, grateful that she had the heat cranked up. "Didn't realize it was that cold out tonight."

"Yeah, well. _January,"_ she said as she gave him an appraising look. "I'm Grace, by the way."

He nodded with a tight smile, trying not to stare her way too much - still doing his best around anyone to be as small as possible - blend in - though that was next to impossible alone in a pickup with the pretty blonde. "Yeah," he said. "You sit behind me in Government."

"Yeah, that's right," she said with a smile as they turned back onto the roadway. It was a mile or so of near silence as the radio played softly in the background. "So I guess you didn't get my notes then?"

He very nearly did a double take as he tried to hide his surprise. He had no idea that it had been her. "No - I just … you didn't …"

"Didn't what?"

"Sign them," Scott finished. "I didn't know they were from you."

"Oh," she said, frowning to herself. "Do you get a lot of notes from girls?" But before he could answer her, she cut him off. "Here we are. Biggest fight of the year. So far."

He frowned at that - if they got bigger … "Great," he muttered as they found a parking spot in the big lot next to the waterfront bar. As soon as they were out of the truck, it was easy to hear the fights - and the crowd from the far end of the lot. "This … is huge."

"Yeah, it is," she agreed, tipping her head toward the entrance. "Lucky us, they don't worry too much about ID here." Scott really didn't know what to expect when they walked through the door into the very loud - very packed bar.

Normally, the place served food, but most of the tables were gone - though the chairs were all lined up around the four different caged arenas. Smoke was thick in the air and the place was more or less elbow to elbow. Scott looked from one arena to the next - not surprised in the least to find that Logan was just stepping into one of them on the far side of the building.

He glanced up to the bracket behind the bar - shocked when he realized that there was more than one - in fact, there was one for each ring - and the two guys running them were staying very busy trying to keep up with all of the updates.

"Come on, let's go find a good seat," Grace said, pulling at his arm, though she surprised the hell out of him when he noticed she had two beers in her other hand.

"Wait -" he said, frowning at the brown bottles, but she didn't hear him over the crowd as they found a spot halfway back from the nearest ring. She handed him the bottle wordlessly, and although he took it, he just frowned at it. She didn't actually expect him to _drink_ this did she?

He automatically looked to where the other fighter was stepping into the ring with Logan, and felt his breath catch when he realized Logan had his focus on _him._ That somehow - even with the crowd and all the hubbub and the noise, he still hadn't been in the building five minutes before he was busted. Logan didn't acknowledge him more than that though before the announcer was calling for the two fighters to get started.

Scott sat down and just watched as Logan easily avoided his opponent's hits, lazily dodging out of the way as the guy wore himself out trying to land a punch. It went on for a good five minutes as the crowd got mad at the lack of hits until Scott was _sure_ that he saw Logan hesitate a hair before a dodge - and he took a punch to the kidney for it before he just laid into the guy with a few very heavy, and for him, slow hits.

Scott frowned as the guy fell the the mats and he realized that Logan was planning on _letting_ these morons hit him. _To make it look good_ , he thought, just then understanding what Logan was talking about. "That's stupid," he muttered under his breath, straightening up just a bit as he watched Logan finish the fight out. The other guy had hit him … and the wince Logan did as he straightened up wasn't fake.

"They're gonna take that little guy out, you know," Grace said. Of course, unless she'd gone to hockey _before_ the Christmas break, there was no way that she could have known that Scott knew Logan.

He turned to face her and gave her a blank look for just a moment. "Not a chance," Scott said in a confident tone, turning back to watch Logan step out of the ring as the next pair of fighters entered.

To Scott's surprise, Logan didn't seek him out - instead, he kept his distance, and kept watch over the kid since Logan knew exactly what the guys had been saying over the past few weeks- and he didn't want anyone getting after the kid when the inevitable happened. He knew these guys were gonna be ticked off about losing their money.

Instead, Logan kept to his side of the bar, drinking and smoking between fights - though he did go into the ring a few times with the cigarette still between his teeth.

The talk from the fighters was tough, though Logan kept out of that too - staying to himself and not even watching the other fighters posturing. Of course, all that really got him was a bunch of insulted fighters chomping at the bit to get him in the ring. He waved off the small talk, and ignored the barflies and lot lizards crawling around the place. He was there for one reason - and it sure as hell wasn't to make friends. It was just about the money. Period.

As expected, the fights got more brutal and definitely more bloody as the night went on, and when it was finally down to just a handful of fighters, the bar was totally packed.

"What happens if the cops show up?" Scott asked suddenly, though he wasn't really expecting an answer when Grace just started laughing.

"Are you kidding? There's still one of the cops in the fight. They're not going to break this up." She looked delighted at the spectacle - especially since not one of the fighters left weren't bloodied up at least a little bit and those that had already fallen out of the bracket were sticking around - regardless of what kind of shape they were in. They all just needed to see who was going to win. .

As he looked around the bar at the battered fighters, Scott noticed that Logan had been careful _not_ to clean up any of the blood short of just wiping the palms of his hands off on his jeans - thus hiding what should have been a multitude of bruises and lacerations. He had just finished the last round before the finals when the announcer called for the other three finalists to get into the ring as well, and suddenly Scott was on alert.

Logan however, didn't look all that surprised, more irritated than anything as the announcement was made. " _Ladies and gentlemen, we've finally reached the end of our night - and I'm sure none of you will complain when instead of dragging out the last three fights, we just turn this into a four way lion fight!"_

Scott watched, as the three that had come in - Nathan's father included - were all grinning and nodding, gazes locked on to Logan. Scott bit off a curse as Logan just casually nodded his consent, hands on his hips and panting slightly - though the other three had gotten a chance to rest after their last fight, and it was clear the three of them were going to try and take Logan out first.

While the other three in the ring were posturing and looming over Logan, positively bouncing in place just waiting for the announcer to step out, Logan just rolled his shoulders and shook his arms out. And _that_ was when Scott realized exactly how bad it was going to be.

"He is _so_ screwed," Grace said in a whisper, wide eyed and in horror about what she was sure was going to happen.

Scott - wasn't so sure which way it was going to go though. Those guys were big, sure … but he'd seen Logan take on that giant blonde creep while he was getting slashed to ribbons. "He … he can do this," Scott said mostly to himself, though Grace had heard it and he just shook her head at Scott in disbelief.

"You have a lot of faith, Mr. Summers," she said with a little laugh.

At the announcer's signal, everyone in the ring moved, and everyone out of the ring was on their feet to watch as the three men rushed Logan. _Predictable,_ Logan thought to himself as two of them grabbed his arms and pushed him up against the fence that made up the walls. He didn't have time to brace for it before the third just started pounding on him with everything he had. The hits were hard - and every one of them made the chain link rattle as the guy started out with a bunch of gut shots.

But when the guy moved to start pounding Logan's face - he only got one hit in before _he_ was the one to let out a cry of pain and turn away from the restrained smaller man, his hand held tightly to his chest as Logan's head hung for a moment and the other two moved to keep going.

The crowd was going nuts - urging the fighter with the now shattered hand to get back to task and pound Logan down. But instead, the guy was staring at Logan with an expression that bordered somewhere between confusion, fear, and anger. But of course, while Logan missed it entirely, Scott was holding his breath. He had seen that expression on people's faces before. That .. that was a look of dawning comprehension. This … was not good.

Logan meanwhile was doing his best to catch his breath between blows from the other two, who were sure they'd gotten him beaten down enough that it was just a matter of time before they knocked him out cold - and disqualified him. Until Logan pulled one knee up to his chest and struck out at the man to his right, using his heel to drive through the guy's knee.

When that guy went down, screaming and grasping at his knee, Logan pulled his arm free and swung it right into the other man's side - hard, though no one but the two of them heard the ribs breaking under his adamantium laced fist.

The man that had been holding him against the wall tried to go for broke - and there were a few blows exchanged before the guy tried to headbutt Logan - and found himself staggered on his hands and knees for his effort as Logan tried to catch a breath, backing away from the three of them as he gasped.

Nathan's father got back to his senses first, his broken hand still held protectively to his chest as he went back to try and hit Logan with a cheap shot while his back was turned, though that backfired spectacularly when Logan simply moved at the last second and instead, Nathan's dad ended up hitting the cop with the broken knee, knocking him out cold.

 _Three left!_ The announcer called out in a tone of disbelief. The crowd was going wild, and Scott was starting to wonder if the fight was going to end any other way than how Logan had called it, even at this point.

As Logan and Nathan's dad circled each other, the third man in the ring started to pull himself together, and when Logan got close enough, he dove at him - getting Logan onto the ground solidly for the first time that night.

There were a few very cheap shots - and even a few below the belt as the two men went quickly from punches to just kicking the crap out of him while he was on the ground, and it wasn't long before Nathan's dad was sure to kick Logan in the face as hard as he could.

Scott was clearly upset - on edge and looking for a way to get Logan _out_ of there as Logan got up to his hands and knees - determined to not let anyone call him out until he _was out._

When Nathan's father came back with a few steps of lead in to kick him in the stomach, Logan half curled around the hit and Scott could finally hear the insults now that he was closer to the ring. Logan was clearly hurting - and that was before Scott realized how much blood was coming out of the guy's nose and mouth, or the fact that he had one arm across his stomach trying to protect himself as Nathan's dad and the other guy were ganging up on him and kicking him like that.

"Just go down, ya rotten little runt!" Nathan's dad shouted, punctuating his words with kicks and panting hard.

The second guy stepped back, trying to take a breath as Nathan's dad kept working him over and Logan just gritted his teeth and started to draw himself up slightly. Scott could tell from the look on his face that he was growling, but no one could hear it from the volume of the crowd anymore.

Suddenly, Logan moved so fast that even without blinking, Scott wasn't sure he saw what he did as Logan shifted his weight and swept Nathan's dad off his feet. The guy hit the mats like a ton of bricks, and like lightning, Logan threw himself on top of the guy and started pounding.

He had gotten in all of half a dozen wicked hits before the other guy realized what was going on and rushed over to pull Logan off with one arm around Logan's neck - but that … was probably not the best thing to do to him. He'd managed to get Logan off of the creep - who was not moving outside of breathing - but that's about all he did, as Logan squirmed in his grip and threw an elbow into his gut _hard._

" _Last two, ladies and gents!"_ the announcer shouted over the roar while Logan and the last guy scrambled to get the upper hand.

It was clear to Scott anyhow, that these hits - on these two - were harder than Logan had been throwing all night, which really only meant he was _pissed._

Even after the guy let him go, Logan didn't stop throwing his elbow back at him, and two more hits into it, the guy collapsed to his knees with blood coming out of his mouth. Logan spun around to face him, looking positively murderous but before he could nail him with a final hit he raised both hands in surrender - tapping out and handing the title over as Logan just flexed his drawn fist - weighing out creaming the guy anyhow ….

Until he noticed Scott standing there holding his breath. Logan stopped and watched the kid for a moment as the announcer took over, jumping into the ring with the two of them and deftly avoiding all the puddles and smears of blood as he made his way to the still growling champ. Logan flat didn't hear it as the guy took a hold of his drawn back wrist and raised his arm into the air. But with a deep breath, he found himself trying to shake the rage off.

"Come on," Grace said at Scott's shoulder. "We should get outta here before the crowd gets moving."

"Go ahead," Scott said. "I'll catch a ride." He turned and gave her a little smile. "Thanks for the lift. I appreciate it."

She paused and looked between Scott and the ring, starting to put it together. "Catch you at the game tomorrow?" she asked.

He thought about it for an instant before he just nodded his agreement. "Yeah, I'll look for you."

"And after?" she asked hopefully.

He had to give a little laugh. "We'll see how it goes." Scott watched her go, and waited just a few moments longer before he headed out of the building too - and right over to Logan's jeep. He didn't say a word, as he climbed into the passenger side and just waited, sure that it would just be a matter of time before his guardian was out of there.


	17. Difference of Opinion

Scott watched the lot empty out slowly after the fight was over… and after the last of the other fighters were gone - finally, Logan came out, moving slowly and taking his time - with the owner of the bar following him with a broad grin. When they saw Scott in Logan's jeep, the owner stiffened up - on alert - but Logan waved him off and made his way over.

Logan climbed in and sat back in the seat, letting out a long breath for a moment after he'd shut the door. Neither of them seemed willing to say anything right away. Scott knew that he shouldn't have been there, but he still had things he needed to say. But it was Logan that broke the silence. " _Did I see you with a beer and a girl_?" Logan asked and in response, Scott turned red as Logan smirked at him.

"She gave me a ride and I didn't drink the beer - but that's not ... I had to see what happened. I needed to know how bad it was going to be," Scott defended. "They've been talking about this idiotic fight for weeks."

"I know," Logan said, nodding his head gently. "This has been planned since beginning of December."

Scott turned his way, frowning. "I didn't think you knew back then."

"Scotty, I work with those guys," Logan said with a little smirk. "I've had to listen to them talking crap for weeks. I know how long it's been in the works. They all knew what was gonna happen too. That's why there were only a couple guys from work that signed up. New guys that weren't at the other fight."

"What about Nathan's dad?" Scott challenged. "He knows something's … _different_ about you."

Logan just shook his head with a dismissive little wave. "He's not going to say anything. Don't worry about it."

"You don't know that."

"Sure I do. He's afraid I'm gonna kill him."

"Which is exactly why he'd _call_ someone in," Scott argued. "You saw - he's not above getting others in on trying to take you down."

"You don't know how these guys think. They're not gonna go running for the authorities. And _you_ saw that I was holding back the whole time. It takes a helluva lot more than that to keep me down."

"What are you going to do when it's not a cage fight?" Scott asked. "Because if he's figured it out - the next time might be someone more - I don't know. Official."

"If he's stupid enough to come at me when he doesn't have the protection of a crowd around him, then I'll teach him a lesson," Logan replied, but when he saw the look of pure disapproval and simmering anger that outlined exactly how unamused his 'son' was, he tried to find the right way to rephrase it, since it was clear that he wasn't getting through the way that he hoped. "Maybe you should just read my file when we get back before you take an opinion on it. It won't do much for anything else - but it should ease your mind on that front at least." He shrugged lightly. "Won't do a damn thing for anything else - but …"

Scott shook his head. "That's not… I don't know what's in there, but I heard what Captain America was saying on some of it, and that's not the _point_."

"Scott, it really is. A bunch of untrained unarmed yea-hoos are not going to slow me down." He paused and let out a deep breath. He didn't want to be having this discussion. But he needed to let him know how far off he was. "I destroyed an entire base full of armed, trained soldiers, on my own. Just … me, trying to get out."

For an instant, Scott was silent, only because he couldn't think of how to respond just yet. "You gonna do that if Nathan's dad calls in, I don't know, some officials?"

"If I have to. But they haven't made choppers yet that I can't hear from miles out. We'd be gone before they showed up. If you were payin' attention - SHIELD hasn't been able to track me for years. If _they_ can't do it - the other guys don't stand a chance."

"So that's it, then - we just move on to the next place," Scott said a little dully.

Logan let out a breath. "You got a better idea? Because the guys that'll come after me aren't going to look to just detain and they won't leave witnesses." He turned to face Scott and tried to make his point by sounding as serious as he could. "You probably _should_ read the file."

Scott let out a breath. "Yeah, probably," he had to admit. "Just to know what we're up against."

"And to decide if you even want to stick around me. But ...guys like him- they aren't nearly as bad as they think they are," Logan told him. "And as soon as they get half a clue, they back off. Most of the time."

"I just don't want to assume he won't say anything," Scott tried to explain.

"I get it. I do. But I'm around the guy every day," Logan said reasonably. "I can smell lies - fear, anxiousness - the whole range of emotions. He starts acting stupid, even if he _could_ fake the outward appearance - I'll know. In the meantime, I'll give him some space to heal and then treat him like I do everyone else. He'll either get over it or he'll avoid me, but tough guys don't usually call the feds."

"I take it you get this a lot," Scott said.

"From time to time," Logan admitted. "Not so much the past few years - but it does help."

"He won't be the first one to figure it out, even if he stays quiet," Scott said after a long pause as he thought it over.

"Right," Logan said, nodding. "But that's also why I'm not entering any more fights. Not around here. Two's the limit. I had to give 'em a chance to realize that comin' after me on their own was a bad idea. But to keep fighting after that it's just asking for it."

There was a few beats of silence as Scott thought it over, and chose to reserve any further questions about the townspeople and the guys Logan had been fighting until _after_ he read the file. But he finally felt like he had an opening to at least change the subject. "So. Fear huh? I thought that was just what people said to make kids act braver. What does that smell like?"

Logan smirked as he started the Jeep up and put it into reverse. "Little bit like ammonia, to be honest. Burns my nose."

"And that's how you smell lies - what if they're not scared?"

"Then it doesn't have as much of it - but it's still there," Logan replied. "There's always fear of being caught for a liar."

"Does it work if it's pathological?" Scott asked curiously.

"Yeah, it even works if they _want_ to believe it. Lying on its own has its own flavor of fear. Different that someone being straight up scared."

Scott smirked as he thought of it. "No wonder they wanted you for a spy."

"That ain't half the reason they wanted me. They didn't know I did that. Just that I healed. And I didn't enlighten them."

"I'm sure I'll read all about it, but…" The smirk turned into a little grin. "You have to admit - it's kind of cool."

"I don't know about cool, but it's damned useful," Logan said with a little tip of his head. "Don't really know what it's like without it either."

"Well, the rest of us do a lot more guesswork, studying, and body language," Scott said.

"Oh, sure I can do that too," he said with a little chuckle. "I just got a shortcut for spies and professionals … you know. When they're _good._ "

"Must be nice," Scott said.

Logan just let out a little non-committal noise and the two spent most of the drive in silence until they got back to the cabin. "File's on my dresser. Yours if you want it. I'm going to clean up and lay low for a little while."

"Yeah, the hits you were taking would take a while to heal from normally," Scott said, wincing at the memory.

"I should be in the hospital," Logan agreed. "Lacerated spleen was about the worst of it - most folks'd have busted ribs or worse. I'll lay low. Doubt any of 'em will come knockin' to check on me."

"And your job?"

"Doesn't start for _two_ weeks. I'll limp and look sore when I go," Logan said in a dry tone that meant he was only half joking. He disappeared into the bathroom to wash off all the blood and left Scott with the file … which took some time to dig into.

He wanted to know, he was sure there would be some good information - well beyond what he already knew. He was just a little leery at what _else_ might be there. Surely, he was exaggerating when he said he'd torn apart a base.

For the first dozen or so pages, very little was useable - a date, sometimes. Or a partial one, and often all that was viable there was his name - or the city that he'd been in. And then it started to come out easier. Some of his training - officially listed anyhow, though it didn't say how he managed to get trained in several of the methods listed - just that he knew them.

Military records dating back to the times before office printers - with hand written dates and deployment for several different military agencies over both Canada and the United States. Though even that had blacked out sections - in particular his name, instead with the designation of 'Logan' neatly written into the open margins.

Logan had gotten out of the bathroom - all cleaned up and changed before he dropped on his bed -right about the time that Scott hit the pages that were stamped with 'Classified' across the top - and that outlined the experimentations that Captain Rogers had mentioned. It was horrifying reading material - what _wasn't_ redacted. Just basic science applied to what he was seeing was enough to make him wonder how many people before Logan were killed trying to pull off exactly what they'd done. He frowned, thinking of how hot any molten metal had to be and pulled out a notebook to see if he could find any information on how hot liquid adamantium was.

He paused to rub the bridge of his nose and tried to use the pressure points that Logan had taught him for eyestrain. Naturally, by that time, Scott'd figured out that if he held most of the papers up to a bright light - and kept his red glasses on - he could read _some_ of what was redacted. It was all the more disturbing when he read through the stuff that they'd tried to black out. Stuff that they didn't want anyone to know was all laid out for him to peruse. But not much. And that too had him frowning as he realized that these … these were very likely the original copies. Even with that - there was nothing he could use…. Nothing that they could prove as evidence.

And … if what he was reading was right - the guys that had used Logan… the ones that lied about him signing up … they had no idea at the time that Logan had a healing capacity like he did _before_ they started experimenting on him. That was evidenced if nothing else by the fact that one of the doctors had even put in the notes how they'd gotten lucky to find a mutant with his particular abilities.

But reading the tiny print through the black ink was stressful and his eyes were hurting him again before he could get much further. He picked up a piece of news paper and slipped it into the file to mark his place. It was late. And he had a hockey game the following afternoon. As curious as he was - he had to let it go. For now.

* * *

The next day, Scott made a point to find out what Logan wanted to eat to heal up faster before he left and promised to bring it back right after the game - though he had to stop short when Logan busted him out. "Why aren't you takin' that girl up on her offers?" Logan asked. "Seems like she's interested to drive you out to a fight you shouldn't have gone to."

"I ... "

"Is she the one that's been leaving those notes too?" Logan asked, still half asleep.

Scott blinked as he stared at Logan's door. "Yeah, she is," he admitted, at a loss for words as his team Captain pulled up to pick him up.

"She's trouble, then. Be careful."

Scott did a double take for just a moment and nodded mostly to himself. "Right. Just - don't find anymore trouble yourself while I'm gone if you can help it, okay? I'll be back soon. With food."

Logan just smirked as he listened to the young man lock the door on his way out and pull it shut behind him. "Damnit. He's gonna go after her," he said to himself as he closed his eyes and leaned back into the pillows.

* * *

Scott was skating _beautifully_ and the team was working well. It took him the better part of two periods to figure out that Nathan … seemed to be avoiding his gaze - and hadn't said more than two words to him all through the game.

All in all - it was the single smoothest game they'd ever played. They dominated the other team - and by the time it was done, Scott was surprised that he wasn't even really tired.

The celebration hit the ice as the two teams finished shaking hands, and as the celebration started up, Scott found himself being swept up in the festivities. None of the guys got out of their uniforms before they were more or less carried out to the tailgate party that had formed in the parking lot.

There was music, and merriment, and to Scott's surprise, he wasn't in the middle of the party for more than a few minutes before Grace found him - and greeted him by sliding up to him and wrapping one arm around his back and popping up to kiss his cheek. "Nice game," she said with a grin. But Scott was just taken off guard entirely by her friendly and familiar hello.

"It … was a team effort," Scott said, blushing slightly, though she couldn't see it in the dark parking lot. "... but thanks." As he mentally chastised himself, he found himself looking for anywhere to look _but_ at Grace. But if she'd caught his stumble, she didn't say anything about it.

The party went on for a couple hours before the coaches came out and sent the kids on their way - though Scott had to convince Grace to let go of his arm as his team Captain called out for him to get in gear. "Come on, I'll give you a ride," Grace pleaded, unwilling to let go of him.

Scott found himself torn, looking between the pretty blonde, and his teammate, who was knowingly shaking his head at him. "How … how about next time?" Scott offered, and just like that, Grace seemed to be appeased.

"Is that a promise, handsome?" she asked with a grin.

"Ah … sure, why not," Scott shot back, a little touch of a smile quirking up the corner of his mouth as the two of them finally parted company. They weren't in the car for more than five minutes when his friend started laughing.

"She … is kind of a fast mover, don't you think?" he asked, smiling Scotts way.

"I don't know about that," Scott said with a little frown.

"Not yet you mean."

Scott opened his mouth and closed it again, unsure of how exactly to handle that one. "That's … not …. No. No."

"Don't worry," the guy said, smirking. "Just go with it."

Scott frowned at that and pointedly looked out the window until they'd reached the cabin, suddenly wondering if he was going to be in trouble when he got in for sticking around for the party. But he really shouldn't have worried since Logan looked as if he'd still been sleeping in the same position as when Scott had left.

Though after he took off his gear and went into the kitchen he let out a breath when he saw that clearly, Logan had ordered take out hours ago. "Of course he did," Scott muttered. "Probably knew about the stupid party."

Scott grabbed the leftovers and dropped onto the couch, though he didn't want to turn on the TV and wake up Logan if he hadn't already, so instead, he quietly headed to his room to grab Logan's file and start reading again.

His newspaper place marker was right where he left it, and he was in good spirits as he got started. He moved a few pages from one side of the folder to the other - mostly because it was full of repeated _procedures_ that he'd already seen, and it was nothing he was up to reading right then.

The medical notations that he _knew_ would have him looking up the meanings in the MERCK manual at the library. The fact was, unless it was painfully obvious in the notes, he didn't catch some of it -

But the hand written notes in the margins, when he could read the writing, always drew his eye and tonight he kind of wished it hadn't.

A bulleted list that ticked off everything that had made 'Mr. Logan' a perfect candidate - and not one of the things on the list had one iota to do with his mutation. Loner. No family. No close friends. With 'no family' circled several times, Scott couldn't help but wonder if Dr. Essex had the same kind of criteria for why he'd picked Scott … or, belatedly, Scott wondered how many other kids had been in that room before him.

He frowned, though he made a mental note to ask Logan about it. From what he knew first hand, and what he'd read about his senses, Logan would have known how many others had been in that nightmare of a room.

But the moment of reflection didn't do much to stop his original train of thought, or the realization that there were other people that operated like Essex, only possibly worse if they were killing people and simply disposing of the bodies as he had to assume had happened with these Department K people.

He looked toward Logan's room where he was reasonably sure Logan was still sleeping. _It could get worse._ Logan's very existence was proof of that. Scott shook his head to clear the thought from his mind before he tried to go back to reading. If he was going to help Logan piece his mystery together, he was going to need to know everything in that file.


	18. Weekend Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Scott refuses to be told what to do by a pushy someone or another. And also learns some things he probably wishes he didn't.

Scott woke up the next morning with a blanket over his shoulders - and the file still spread out in front of him on his bed. He got up and headed toward the scent of coffee that had already filled up most of the cabin, and he wasn't surprised in the least to find Logan reading the paper over his coffee.

"Sounds like it was a good game," Logan remarked, not looking up from the news.

"It was, actually," Scott replied sleepily with a crooked sort of a smile as he took a seat at the table and slid his chair back to rest his head on his crossed arms.

"You don't have to be up," Logan pointed out. "Part of layin' low means no fun for me on the weekend for a little while. Hit the sack if you're tired still."

"No," Scott said, shaking his head gently. "If I go back in there, I'm going to _finish_ reading that file."

"You don't have to," Logan said. "Most of that stuff's boring as hell. And repetitive."

But Scott shook his head and sat up. "Not really," he said. "I can read under some of the blacked out lines if I hold it up to the light and use my red lenses." He gave Logan a little smirk. "It's not complete, and it doesn't always work, but I'm making notes of what you can't read outright."

That got Logan to put his paper down and just watch him for a moment. "You're kidding me."

Scott just smirked as he shook his head. "A lot of it looks like personal notes from the doctors. I don't have names, just initials of the people making the notes."

When Logan just stared at him for a moment, Scott decided to take matters into his own hands and went to gather up all that he had and show it to him. He laid it all out on the kitchen table like he'd had it on his bed - and started pointing out how it had to have been originally organized - at least up to the point that Scott had read, and for all of it, Logan was just silent, listening and paying close attention to all the boy was saying.

The notations Scott had added didn't really _seem_ to be much … but it was ringing a few alarm bells for Logan, which meant … it was something anyhow.

When Scott was done showing him everything he'd done, it was clear that Logan had no idea how to respond other than to wordlessly nod as he went over it all again, obviously out of sorts as he took in the little snippets that clearly meant more to Logan than what the papers could decipher.

"Any of this help?" Scott asked hopefully, his hand on the side of his neck as he almost held his breath. He turned to watch Logan as the older man very carefully picked up one of the near-blacked out papers with Scott's notations for it.

"Givin' me one hell of a headache," Logan said quietly. "So … yeah. I think so. At least, it's knockin' somthing loose." There was a little pause as Scott quietly relaxed his shoulders in relief. "So, thanks."

Scott couldn't stop the smile that popped up, though he tried to cover it quickly. Logan was obviously pleased and Scott decided that until the weather broke - or hockey season was over, he was going to give the file his attention in his free time. But obviously not until Logan was done looking over his good work so far.

Scott was feeling pretty good about himself - all things considered- when there was a knock at the door. Logan stopped what he was doing and looked toward it as Scott quickly got moving. "I've got it," he offered. The last thing he wanted was for Logan to get derailed from whatever epiphany he might be on the brink of over someone coming to call with terrible timing.

"Hi," Grace said as Scott opened the door - a bit too bright eyed for Scott to believe, even for as late in the day as it was already getting to be. She tried to peek past his shoulder, and Scott stepped into her view - without really thinking about it. "Are … you busy today? I was hoping we could spend a little time."

Scott couldn't hide the look of surprise, though he recovered a lot quicker than he had done in the past. "Actually - I am a little busy," Scott said, honestly wanting to get back to the file. "But - maybe next time, with a little more warning?"

Grace looked let down, but only for a second before she leaned forward with a little sparkle in her eyes and a troublemaking smile. " _Dad's a hardass, huh?_ " she whispered, but that really only got Scott to smile - though not at all for the reason that Grace thought, as he heard Logan almost bark out a little laugh under his breath, though he covered it well.

"I … have stuff I need to get done," Scott said, trying to keep from smiling wider.

"Catch you Monday then?" she asked, clearly not letting up on him.

"Yeah, sure," Scott said, shaking his head as he finally got the impromptu conversation to end, though he watched her head back to her truck through the window.

"You can go if you want," Logan said from the table. "Contrary to what the town at large thinks, I'm perfectly fine."

"No, I'm not … sure I even like her," Scott admitted. "She's nice, I think, but I don't know." He shrugged and slipped back into his seat at the table. "I know I didn't tell her where I live."

Logan gave him a raised eyebrow look, but didn't push, instead focusing on the papers still. "I don't need a babysitter," he said. "But I'm not going to push you after a forward girl either."

Scott picked up one of the papers and shook his head before he started to simply read through parts of it he hadn't written down yet that were hidden behind the black lines as Logan listened to what he was saying and made his own notations alongside Scott's.

The papers were looking more and more cluttered with notations and little notations on different memories or code words that had sprung to mind when Logan read them.

* * *

Time was moving on - and as the days went forward, Grace became more and more persistent until one day Scott simply realized that .. they had become a thing. At least, the whole school thought they were a thing. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but he knew that it was an issue when they were sitting at lunch and one of Grace's friends started asking what _they_ were planning to do for the weekend. As in the group of them. All of them.

At first, he just listened, but when Grace took a hold of his arm and spoke for them - on how _they_ would be at the upcoming party, Scott finally spoke up.

"I have plans this weekend," Scott said. "So - you guys have fun."

"You didn't say anything to me about any weekend plans," Grace said, looking upset.

"Well - this is the first I've heard about yours, so ... "

"You've got to cancel," she insisted. "Whatever it is. You should just … come with us. It'll be fun."

He was already shaking his head 'no' when the others started in - ribbing him and pushing … "Rick's parents are going to be out of town _all weekend._ Come on," Grace's closest friend said, sidling up on Scott's other side so that they were flanking him. "You gotta be there."

"I'll … let me talk to Logan," he said, unintentionally using Logan as a shield for a moment.

" _He's a real pain,_ " Grace whispered to her friend as she leaned around Scott. "He won't let Scott go out on the weekend. Ever."

"Come on, that's not true," Scott said, his tone going to an almost resigned note. "I'm the one that picks what to do on the weekend."

"If that's true, then pick us," Grace said with a bright smile. "We're having a party. You can _so_ use a party."

He turned her way with his mouth partly open, unable to form a solid argument that he knew she'd go for. "I'll … think about it."

"That's code for he needs to _ask first_ ," the other girl said.

"Because I'm not a delinquent," Scott said dryly. "And he doesn't need to give permission."

"Oh," Grace said, swatting at his arm. "Come _on._ We're not bad. We're just trying to have a little fun."

Scott let out a sigh and looked around at the group that had surrounded him. "Fine, I'll see you later. You can fill me in on all the details then."

"I'll pass you a note in Government," Grace promised as the little group broke up a few minutes before the bell rang.

But when Scott got the note, and of course was unable to read it until _after_ Hockey practice, to say he was unamused by what she'd written down would be a severe understatement.

It was basically instructions - step by step - on what to say to _lie_ to Logan, which - he knew was ludicrous to even consider in the first place. Not that he even _wanted_ to lie. It was the rest of it that was really ridiculous. The fact that the party was in the middle of the woods in a lakeside vacation cabin - that had been winterized, he was sure. Or the fact that he couldn't even give a straight answer as to where or who he'd be with _or_ when he'd be back. It wasn't even a matter of hours or time of day … it was the freakin' day of the week non- answer that had Scott shaking his head wondering _why_ any of them would want to do that.

He walked into the cabin several hours before Logan got out of work with the plan in place on how to get out of the house - but it wasn't Grace's plan. It was the wild concept of just freakin' being straight with the guy.

As far as Scott was concerned though, all of that could wait. He had some time still before Logan would be in from work. He had a little homework, and of course, it was his turn to pick out which takeout place to call. He opened the drawer where the menus were kept and simply pulled one out, not even looking to see what it was as he left it on the table and headed for the file folder that he'd been unable to dig into since the weekend previous.

Hockey season was winding down - but the practices were more intense, and the games were rough. And frankly, Scott simply hadn't had time to do the digging and deciphering he'd wanted to. He didn't want to feel like he was getting behind. Self imposed task or no, he wanted to work through this thing.

He was still sifting through papers when Logan came in, though he didn't say much other than to agree on what kind of pizza to order before he headed to his room to clean up while Scott read.

When Logan came out, shortly before the pizza showed up, Scott decided to come clean. "Grace wants me to go to a party this weekend," he said in a normal speaking tone, knowing full well Logan could hear him from across the cabin.

"Have fun," Logan called back, dropping onto the couch with a sigh. It had been a long, cold week and Logan was ready to find something else to do for the winter. If nothing else, something with less people to deal with.

Scott let out a little laugh to himself. "I'm not sure I even want to go."

"Then don't," Logan advised, groaning to himself when the delivery guy showed up a short while later. He didn't even make it out of his car before Logan was gathering up the cash. "Your weekend. Do what you want with it."

Scott shook his head and listened as the money was exchanged at the door "I'd _like_ to work on this file and go fishing."

"Then do that," Logan said from the other room after he closed the door. "But you might want to eat first. You know. For such taxing weekend plans like reading. What time are you meeting up? Or am I not supposed to know."

Scott shook his head and came out of the room to grab a few slices. "Eleven thirty," he said before he turned around to head back to read for a while. "I'm not sure it's the kind of crowd I want to run with though, honestly."

Logan just chuckled to himself and found something to watch, his feet kicked up on the coffee table. "Probably just tryin' to feel like they're older than they are."

Scott smirked at that and shook his head with a little laugh. He was just getting into a good stride. It wasn't medical stuff - not exactly. Instead, it was a pretty thick section that had something about memory modifications and Scott was hopeful that there might be something in the redacted area that would point him to more about Logan's past that he was searching so hard for.

He was so wrapped up in the redacted areas that when the time for him to meet up with Grace came around, he didn't even realize it.

Logan however, noticed what time it was and he peeked in to see Scott completely wrapped up in something. "You're gonna be late," he told him, leaning in the door.

"Yeah, it's fine," Scott said distractedly, waving him off with one hand. "Really. I'll catch up with them later."

Logan raised an eyebrow at that, but let it go, heading back to read the letter that Heather had sent him earlier, though if he was being honest with himself, he had been waiting for Scott to leave before he did so.

Logan didn't know _when_ exactly he'd gotten into the habit of reading Heather's letters alone, but it was a habit nonetheless. And one he couldn't quite explain. So with a sigh and a last look Scott's way, he finally cracked it open and got himself wrapped up in all that Heather had to say.

Mac was doing well, of course. The suit he was working on was functioning almost as well as he'd wanted it to - though the details that Heather gave on that were sketchy - she really just said that it would allow him to keep up with naturally powered up individuals - though again, she didn't say _how._

And of course, the pressure was rising around the two of them. And _that_ was what Logan had been worried about from the get go. Especially snce Fury started in doing what he needed to for Scott's paperwork and all that other … _stuff_. He knew that the guys in charge at the Department were going to start pushing to recover. And of course, by the time Heather pressed, Logan had more or less decided it was at the minimum time to find a new cabin. The address was compromised. It was just a matter of time.

He set the letter down on the coffee table - since he liked to leave them lying around for Scott to read too. Partly because Heather always put something in there for Scott, but also because he wanted to convince himself that he wasn't hiding anything. But that was hard for him to believe especially when every single letter she wrote closed out with ' _Please come back - we'll make it all work out. I promise. I miss you.'_

It was clear she was hurt. And it was clear that her insistence that she wasn't looking at him _like that_ was a lie. The real problem was that he felt the same way. It was the more _pressing_ reason that he'd left. He knew that if nothing changed, sooner or later he'd have acted on the impulse. And he knew she didn't totally buy his explanation that he just needed to go. Even if there was a lot of truth in it. But he couldn't do that to Mac. Or Heather. Not when he knew that sooner or later Heather would get over whatever it was and want to go back to Mac anyhow when she realized her mistake. So instead of wrecking what was left of that friendship, he'd left - and let her down. And now, he'd knew he was going to let her down again by _not_ telling her where he was going to be.

She wouldn't like it. She'd take it like he didn't trust her, but that really wasn't it. It was that he knew she was being watched. Though she thought he was paranoid for thinking it - he knew he was right.

In the next room over, Scott had long forgotten what his weekend plans were when he had found the single page designating his legal guardian as 'Weapon X' - and then detailing him in terms that clearly read that _no one_ in that branch of the government -or any other- looked at Logan as if he was anything even remotely human.

His mind flashed back to Logan saying as much to Steve - and the look of disbelief on Steve's face. Until of course, he'd read the file and seen it for himself.

With that in mind, he quickly realized that the paperwork … didn't exactly outline what Logan's memories were. It was more of _how_ completely they'd taken away _everything_. So that they could have their living weapon.

Scott had _thought_ he'd had a hard time memory wise, not being able to fully remember that first year or so after the accident, but what he was reading in this file - especially the parts that mentioned tissue samples of parts of the brain that were never meant to be sampled … this wasn't accidental trauma. This was trained doctors and _neurosurgeons_ that were purposefully trying to destroy - breaking every vow they'd taken to 'do no harm' as they pushed the envelope of experimentation. And _control._

The file just got more terrifying the further he read. They didn't have _anyone_ acting as oversight. Not with the Canadian government funding it - and half of _their_ research was funded and supplemented by the US. Both countries were in total cooperation, trading scientists and even intel on this project, whose name was totally blacked out, but had clearly _started_ with the Americans.

But it wasn't the international cooperation to break basic human rights that had Scott transfixed. He couldn't figure out how or _why_ they'd done it, or the depth of what they'd done. The papers in front of him had alluded to complete control. But what that meant was completely indecipherable from what Scott had in front of him and it was plain that there was much missing in that section.

_I'm sure Fury's looking for that part,_ Scott thought to himself as he searched for an explanation. He wanted to know why - and how far they'd taken it. Or why there was a complete gap between records for years without so much as a footnote when he'd just gotten through a section that covered mere weeks in such detail that it had taken up a large chunk of the file. Even if 90% of it was black ink now.

It just wasn't adding up.

He tried and failed to stifle a yawn before he glanced at the clock, and then let out a curse when he realized how late it really was. It was too late to try and meet up with Grace. And to be honest, he'd have preferred to just keep reading. But he was tired. And officially, since he'd inadvertently blown off Grace - his weekend was free.


	19. New Diggs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Scott discuss the state of things and pick a new path.

Logan was halfway through breakfast - and looking through the paper's classifieds section- when Scott got up the morning after blowing off Grace. As usual, Logan didn't draw any attention to the fact that the boy was a little adrift, instead chalking it up to teeny bopper drama, though he _would_ play sounding board if that was what Scott needed, loathe as he was to do so.

He waited for Scott to sit down with his cereal and start to wake up before he brought up the subject of moving. "Heather's getting some serious heat," Logan said. "So we're gonna have to get a new place. We can stay around town, just gotta find a new spot."

Scott looked up at him for a moment, but waited to weigh it all out before he spoke. "Is it that serious?"

"Probably," Logan replied, his focus on the page in front of him. "Just gonna find a place on the other side of town. Maybe in the resort area." He smirked to himself. " _That's_ a spot they'd never look."

"But not another town," Scott said, watching Logan from across the table.

"Not unless I know for sure that I'm not just being paranoid, though to be honest, it'd be better that way," Logan said in a conversational tone before he tipped his head toward the living room. "Heather's letter's over there. You can see what kind of pressure she an' Mac are under. He won't be able to hold out much more - and I wouldn't be surprised if he already let slip that Heather's writing to me."

Scott looked troubled for a moment as he played with his cereal and thought it over. Not only whatever might be in Heather's letter, but all that he'd stayed up late reading. If it was the same group he'd been reading about …

"Can we go fishing today?" Scott asked, thinking to himself that at least on the ice they'd have a long, clear, wide open view of anyone that might attempt to approach them. "It's been a while."

Logan just nodded. "Sure. Be a good chance to check out a few places to go too."

Scott let out a sigh of relief and went back to his breakfast, already making plans on how many layers he thought he needed to sit out on the ice for a few hours. All things considered, a little time and peace and quiet was probably exactly what Scott needed.

They'd been out on the ice for almost an hour before Scott decided he had to ask. "If the people after you are Canadian authorities, what can they actually _do_ on American soil?"

Logan didn't say anything for a moment, mostly because technically - they shouldn't be able to do anything to him but that just wasn't his reality. "If they come looking, they'll do whatever they think is necessary to bring me in."

Scott watched him and processed his answer. "But the Americans won't stop them? That seems a little … why wouldn't they stop them?"

"They have a stake in it too," Logan replied. "And ...they put a lot of money into me. They want their investment back."

"You mean the training, and stuff?" Scott said, just really trying to verify.

"No. I mean the metal," Logan replied. "Stuff's worth a fortune. Can't find it anywhere _and_ there's only a few people in the world that know how to work with it."

"That should make it easier to find out more, right?"

But Logan just shook his head. "Not when they're being protected by one government or another, and the only people who know how to make the stuff is the US." He let out a little sound of irritation. "No reason to think about it too hard. I can't do anything about it. For all my sneak, it's still impossible to get through a damn metal detector." It was a half hearted attempt at a joke, but it had Scott wondering.

"What would you do if you _could_ get to them?"

"I dunno," he replied quietly. "Doesn't much matter. I wanna keep _away_ from 'em - not go lookin'. They're the ones lookin' for me, remember?"

"Yeah." For a while Scott took that as his cue to just sit back and enjoy the quiet, and he took the time to gather his thoughts. Not the least of which happened to center on not only the file, but on Director Fury's offer. He was pretty sure he understood why Logan was so gunshy about working with a governmental agency. At least - when he took into consideration all the crap that had happened to the older mutant.

Scott shook his head. It was going to take a while to get used to thinking of himself - and his guardian in terms of the genetic classification that seemed to have so many people up in arms.

It wasn't long before the two of them had caught their limit of fish- and Scott was relieved to get off the ice. The two of them took a different route back to the cabin - one that did indeed arc through the collection of lakeside cottages and cabins that were part of the vacation industry of the area.

Logan left the car running as he hopped out to take a look at a couple of the different cottages, finally nodding to himself when he found one that would work. "That last one has the best exit possibilities."

"It's right on the lake," Scott said with a little frown.

"Make it that much easier to go fishing," Logan reasoned with a shrug. "Don't overthink it. We'll probably only be here until school's out - at most. You have flying lessons waiting for you." he put the Jeep in gear and started down the road. "I'll call the number on this one when we get back. I'd like to move on it quick."

Scott didn't argue - especially since he had read Heather's letter too, and if he ignored the same message that Heather had put in throughout, it really did sound like she and Mac were getting the screws tightened on them. "Yeah, I read Heather's letter," Scott said quietly, but the letter had brought up new questions that had Scott thinking. "Why does she always sign it like that?"

Logan glanced his way for just a moment, and found himself trying not to shift under the boy's honest question. "She shouldn't," he said finally. "I left under less than ideal circumstances."

Scott frowned at that and thought it over. "Did she marry Mac after you left?"

Logan held his breath and shook his head very slowly. "No, they were married before I met them." When Scott stared ahead out the windshield and didn't say anything else, Logan felt compelled to defend himself. " _Nothing happened_."

The two of them finished the ride in silence. Scott had questions, but he could see Logan was on edge for the subject.

When they got back to the cabin, both of them grabbed their catch and brought it inside, though Logan didn't waste any time before he called on the lakeside cottage he'd found, pointedly not looking Scott's way as he got to business.

Scott almost held his breath while he listened in on the call. He got started on cleaning their catch as Logan talked with the guy and made arrangements.

After Logan'd answered a few questions, he hung up the phone and took a moment to breathe before he raised his voice just a bit. "Place'll be ready by the weekend," Logan told him when he hung up, cementing that the two of them were definitely leaving their cabin behind them. "Not a bad run, really," Logan said. "Better'n six months."

"How often were you moving before?" Scott asked with a frown.

Logan let out a breath and weighed out if he should tell the boy or not. "I wasn't staying anywhere more than a few days," he admitted, and he closed his eyes as he heard Scott drop the knife in the kitchen sink before he turned to face him.

"You've been sticking in one place because of _me_?" Scott said, surprising himself at the little bit of heat in his voice. "You're going to get yourself caught - and it'll be my fault."

"I'm not getting caught," Logan replied. But at that, Scott just crossed his arms and gave Logan the driest look he'd ever seen on someone anywhere near that young. "I'm … taking _precautions_. It's fine." Logan frowned at the young man and shook his head to himself. "I've been doing this since long before you were born, Scotty. I know what I'm doing. Really."

"You know what you're doing when you're _alone_ ," Scott corrected.

"I'm not going to do anything to draw unwanted attention or get picked up - or anything that should tip off anyone," Logan said calmly. "I've run with company before. I know what to look for. And there's no way in hell I'm gonna just _let_ anything happen that shouldn't."

But Scott's dry expression persisted, and Logan finally just let out a little breath. "Listen. We're still at the cabin until the end of the week. I'll keep extra vigilant until then, alright? I don't want you getting caught up in the crossfire."

"Well that's just … what would they want _me_ for," Scott mumbled under his breath.

"You'd be surprised," Logan replied just as dryly as he headed into the other room to take a look over what he wanted to bring along - not that they had much in the way of possessions, but the conversation had taken a turn that he just didn't want to get into. Instead, he was sure that packing would be a better use of his time and give Scott a chance to cool off. Until he came across the passport that Fury had given him.

Logan swore to himself as he realized, like it or not, the kid needed to have his escape route planned if everything did manage to go to hell in a handbasket. Grumbling to himself he picked up the file that held all of Scott's papers and information and took out the passport before he went back to where the kid was washing his hands after dealing with their catch. "Keep your passport on you," Logan told him, holding it out. "If - on the off chance it goes wrong - that has all the contact info you need to get in touch with Cap." He gave Scott a pointed look. "And if they manage to get _insanely lucky_ and get the drop on me- I'll meet you in New York."

Scott frowned at that. "How am I supposed to get there- alone?"

Logan caught the growl before it slipped out. "You call Cap. You stay hidden. He'll come get you."

"And what about you in this scenario?" Scott challenged, frowning and keeping his ground.

"They've never been able to keep me for long. I'd get out of it." Logan paused, knowing full well that Scott _hated_ that answer by the look on his face so he tried for a little diplomacy of sorts. "And I'm sure Cap'd be coming after me now that he knows I'll play back up for him."

"That's not ... " Scott let out a sigh. "That's really only like half of a plan." He was shaking his head.

"What are you talking about?" Logan said, frowning at him. "It'd get you to Cap safe and sound."

"Yeah, but …" Scott looked openly upset, and that on its own had Logan a bit confused.

"Hey," Logan said seriously, waiting until Scott looked at him before he continued. "First and foremost the plan is to _not_ get caught. There are a whole lotta steps between that and 'call Cap', okay? I know you saw some stuff at the fight -and with Creed, but that's _not_ everything - and really. I won't go down without a fight."

Scott let out the breath he was holding and just nodded his head in agreement. There wasn't much he could argue - not when he had no words to put to the situation anyhow. "I'll come up with a better plan," Scott insisted.

"You do that," Logan said with a concerned frown. "Come up with something better and I'll go along with it."

* * *

Monday rolled around and Scott had clearly forgotten all about how his weekend was previously scheduled to go. He got to his locker and grabbed the books he needed for first period … and there was no trouble from anyone - a few attaboys from some of his classmates on a good game Saturday, but … nothing unpleasant.

He was almost to lunch hour before he heard a loud laugh and looked across the hall to see Grace looking sullen as her friends tried to get her to carouse with them. But she was too busy giving Scott the stink eye to want to goof around.

Scott frowned to himself. He didn't see what it was that had her so tweaked if it was a party like she'd said it was. She shouldn't have had a reason to complain if she spent the weekend surrounded with friends like she'd told him the plan was.

So instead of worrying about it, he just shrugged and chalked it up to moody teenage girls as he got back to his assignment on Shakespeare's _Julius Caesar_.

That went on for a few days before finally, when he was combing over his History paper, Grace simply dropped into the seat across from him - slamming her books on the table as she glared at him. "You stood me up," she accused. "And you don't even have the decency to apologize for it."

He stared at her for a moment, and he suddenly did feel bad about the whole thing. "I didn't realize it was a date," he countered. "Since it was a party … I thought it was just, you know … a party."

She let out an irritated noise as she crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "You are just so …. _Ugh!_ " She got to her feet and gathered her books up before she leaned closer, one finger in his face. "There's something really wrong with you, you know? A girl practically throws herself at you and you can't even _see it. Freak!_ "

As she stormed off, there was a little snicker from Nathan's group of friends, but when he turned their way, he was surprised that Nathan wasn't joining them in their quiet laughter. Instead he was watching Scott with trepidation.

He held Nathan's gaze until the older boy turned and pushed through his little circle of friends and all at once, Scott was nervous. He didn't know if Nathan suspected him or not - but he knew that his father had figured out Logan. That much was clear at the fight before Logan nearly put the guy into a coma.

Scott stood up to go after Nathan, to try and … well. He wasn't sure what, but he felt like he had to do something. The only problem was that he just couldn't find the guy. Which was troublesome since normally, Scott couldn't seem to get from one class to another without Nathan there busting his chops. It was just then he realized that he hadn't seen the guy all week.

Even at practice, Nathan was minding his own business - and although it made everyone work better as a group, Scott was anxious the whole time, especially after he realized why. When he got back to the cabin after practice on Friday, Logan had already loaded up anything of any real importance and was just waiting for Scott to finish up before they headed over to the new place.

"Do you think it'll be enough?" Scott asked as they started to unload at the new cottage on the lake a few hours later. "The cross-town move, that is."

"If they don't come knockin' yeah, it should be more'n enough. They won't think to look in the same area. Usually when I move it's a lot more dramatic. But if we can swing it, I'd like you to at least finish out the season," Logan said. "Last thing you need is a buncha kids muttering your name like a curse."

Scott smirked to himself and finished up hauling the few boxes they had into the new place, and to his surprise, when they were done, Logan pulled the Jeep into a garage next to the house. "One of the perks of this place," he said with a little smirk. "Harder to spot it if it's hidden."

The two of them settled in to unpack - picking out the rooms they planned to use - this cottage was a little bigger than the cabin and more open, but still, Logan went through the place, stopping at one spot or another and looking between the windows. It took Scott a moment to realize what he was doing - checking the lines of sight and deciding how to block them off. He had to wonder how much the guy did that _wasn't_ a tactical maneuver.

Once they were both settled - mostly - Logan took some time to tell Scott exactly what he needed to be on the look out for. "Anyone that looks like they don't belong. Might be as obvious as guys in military garb, or business suits, or if they're _good_ \- they'll be dressed like everyone else. Those guys … they always give it away in how they hold themselves. They're always more formal - upright. Stiff."

"That … could be anyone," Scott pointed out, picking up a bit of Logan's paranoia, especially when he simply agreed with him.

"I've got an advantage," Logan said, tapping the side of his nose. "I can smell the gun oil easy, and if I've crossed paths with them before, even if I don't _know_ them, I still get a gut feeling on who they are." Scott watched him, nodding, clearly cataloging away that information. "But," Logan continued. "I try to address it before they get close enough for me to _have_ to scent them."

"So for me," Scott said slowly, hoping that Logan would walk him through it. "How do I spot them - outside of 'they could be anyone'?"

Logan drew in a deep breath and took a seat, then spent the next hour answering all of Scott's questions on how to spot deception, or how the operatives would try to act, the whole time hoping that Scott wouldn't need to use the information, but knowing deep down that eventually - if the kid wanted to stick with him - it would be necessary.


	20. A Whole Different Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott tries to finish his Hockey game while suited strangers circle the arena. Oh no!

The next morning, Logan was working on getting the place in order while Scott headed out to make it to his game - as usual, he had to be there a couple hours early, but a few blocks from the school, he very nearly did a double take when he saw the three black, nondescript SUV's with government plates. That … was not normal. And there was no way the timing was by chance.

He took his glasses off and stashed them in his coat pocket, though he was careful to watch which direction they were headed out of the corner of his field of vision. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he held his breath, though he wasn't sure if it was good or bad that the cars turned to head down the road that led to the old cabin. _That can't be a coincidence,_ he thought to himself, but before he could decide what to do about it, his coach called out to him.

"Not wearing the glasses today?" the coach asked as he put his arm around Scott's shoulders and pointed him toward the open locker room door.

"Just wanted to give my eyes a little rest," Scott said quickly, pulling the glasses out of his pocket and shoving them on his face as they stepped into the locker room. He wanted to warn Logan - let him know that trouble might have found them _just like he'd said,_ but even as he made it to the payphone in the hall, he let out a little grumble as he realized that the phone hadn't been transferred yet. He couldn't leave - not without drawing attention to where he was headed …

With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Scott realized that there wasn't anything he could do. Not really. But he didn't want to be at the school. Not when it was entirely possible that Logan was in huge trouble. He tried to figure out a way to get out - to head out … but nothing was working in his favor and he didn't even have a way to _get there._

He thought about just cutting and running, but the captain was so sincerely glad to see him - and started pushing him for his strategy against this team - the big rivalry team - that he just … he couldn't get out of it. Though when Nathan came through grumbling that everyone's parents were there - with a pointed look Scott's driection, Scott had to go take a peek at the crowd.

He let out a breath of relief when he saw Logan sitting in the back row with a few of the guys from work, all of them seemed to be chatting as the crowd grew. He let out a breath and relaxed his shoulders slightly. Maybe he was mistaken. Maybe the paranoia had gotten to him, worrying about something going wrong. Seeing things that weren't there ….

With Logan in the crowd, Scott could relax. At least he knew that he wasn't being dragged off by nameless government alphabet soup agencies. He let out a breath and nodded to himself. This was going to be a good game. He had several strategies in mind - and so far, when he and the team captain had put their heads together, they had won every game.

The team skated out onto the ice to the roar of a full crowd - this was one of the last games of the season, and most of the town was turning out for it. The home team took a lap around the arena - and as they did so, Scott scanned the crowd, smirking to himself as he nearly flew along the ice.

They were just getting into place - after the visitors had taken the same round - when Scott spotted the odd men out. Crisp, neat suits. Half a dozen of them. He very nearly slammed into the wall, distracted trying to get a good look at the suits - and the other team took advantage quickly.

He had to get his head in the game. He tried to remind himself that Logan had spotted him in that bar full of people - he was bound to have spotted the guys in suits. The next time the game was in time out, Scott glanced up to where Logan had been, and frowned. He just wasn't there. He turned his head to look at where the guys in suits had been and frowned deeper - they were gone too. He tried to ignore the panic. He really did. But it was just too …

Where the hell was he anyhow?

* * *

While Scott was warming up on the ice, Logan had been talking with some of the guys, but they hadn't been talking too long before the six suited men came in, obviously looking for him. Logan wanted to give it a chance … let them look on their own if they felt like they could find him that quickly, though the fact that they were at the school for the game had Logan in much more of a 'fight me' attitude than if they'd approached him alone at the cabin, or even the new cottage.

But, he'd recognized one of them by scent, and although he knew who it was right off, the fact that there were so many of Fury's agents was not setting well with him. It was clear during the first period that they simply hadn't spotted him yet, and Logan had to almost roll his eyes. Poor training. Or lazy - or … they knew they were going to get their backsides handed to them and they were in no rush to do that.

Logan sat back, watching the game, and smirking to himself at how far Scott had come as he kept the Agents in his peripheral vision. Most of the people in the crowd had noticed the not-so-conspicuous suits, and most of those that were nearest the six men looked very uncomfortable.

"Fer Christ's sake," Logan muttered to himself when he realized that this was just going to be a bigger problem if he didn't address it - and quickly. He quietly slipped away as soon as the home team scored a goal - the crowd on its feet covered his exit, and gave him a solid chance to sneak around through the crowd.

The little group of Agents didn't see him coming, and their lead, Quartermain, startled when Logan reached out and grabbed his arm without any warning. "This is not the place," Logan warned with a growl when Quartermain turned his way and let out all his breath.

"I didn't think that I'd ever be able to say that I was relieved that it was you."

"Not sure how you mean that to sound, but I'm gonna take that as I scare you just a little bit," Logan said, not blinking or dropping his gaze as he glared at Quartermain.

"That's not really important right now," Quartermain said. "What's important is that we get you and your boy secured." Logan frowned deeper and Quartermain quickly clarified. "Not … okay. So our terminology is going to cause problems. Listen."

Logan glanced around them and pulled Quartermain out into the empty hall. "What?"

"We caught a line of military vehicles headed this way. They're unmarked, but satellite puts them on the Canadian border as of late last night. The buzz is that they're looking. So Fury said to get you both out."

"Not sure I wanna go along with that. We can find our own way just fine."

"Logan - if you make this turn into a _rescue_ , Fury _will_ push a lot harder to get you on more than just retainer," Quartermain said, levelling with him.

"You're not supposed to tell me that part."

"No. I'm not," Quartermain agreed, his expression open. Logan had to pause at that, and just stared at the man as the crowd got riled up.

"How long?" Logan asked finally.

"Just until they're gone and we do a sweep of your place," he promised. "We want to be sure they don't manage to grab you. The last thing Fury wants to see is you _working_ for them again."

Logan weighed it out for a few moments - and obviously that seemed to be running too long since the Agents around him all seemed to be getting antsy.

If he'd been alone, he would have taken their warning into consideration and disappeared. But as the buzzer went off and the crowd roared behind him, he was reminded again that it simply was an entirely different game, and one he'd brought onto himself. Finally he nodded once.

"If you have anything you _need_ , we can send in an undercover to grab it," Quartermain offered.

"Just the paperwork, really," Logan replied. "But that's at the new place."

Quartermain frowned and tipped his head to the side. "That would explain why your place was empty … but if they're here and looking -"

"An undercover would be perfect," Logan agreed. "They won't know who belongs where anyhow, so it should be an easy grab. Unless you just leave it alone and hope they don't find the place."

"For as much trouble as getting a hold of those files and documents, I'd rather we just got them," Quartermain said as the two of them put their heads together and Logan discreetly handed over the keys to the new place and headed back into the game to look around for anyone else that shouldn't have been there.

SHIELD was good - but when they operated on their own turf, they were like most other government agencies. Department K would not be so bold if they were there too.

The game was nearly over, and there were no less than four people in the crowd that Logan was almost certain had no business anywhere near this game or this community. He made his way over to meet Scott at the locker room, and as he slipped around the crowd, he realized one of the four was watching him. He was careful not to engage - or to make eye contact to tip the guy off as he disappeared into a hidden alcove between the locker room and the crowd and just waited.

If that guy was gonna make a move, he'd nail him as he passed.

The team went by quickly and the coach after them. Maybe ten seconds passed before that guy headed right behind them, though he didn't make it far before Logan grabbed him and pulled him into the alcove. He had him slammed against the wall - claws pressing against his chin in the dark corner. "Who sent you and what do you want?" Logan growled out as he dug into the guy's jacket with his free hand - looking for the ID.

The guy didn't say a word as Logan pulled his wallet out and flipped it open. The ID was of course, Canadian - and the security card showed a classification that Logan didn't recognize at first. "I'm with SHIELD," the guy said finally, very softly - and with both hands raised. "They sent me to talk to the kid."

"What kid?" Logan asked, glaring at the guy.

"I thought there was a kid … they said you had a kid with you."

That was all the proof Logan needed, even without the senses, to see that this guy wasn't SHIELD, since SHIELD knew all about him and every agent they'd come into contact with knew Scott's name. Logan growled low and pulled back with his free hand to cream the guy. He didn't wait after that to slip into the locker room and give Scott a look that made it clear that it was well beyond time to GO. "Leave the gear. You can get it later," he said as Scott started to pick up his bag.

He turned toward his coach and shouted "Emergency -Sorry," before he followed Logan out of the door in nearly a run.

The parking lot they ran into was empty - the crowd still hadn't gotten out to that side yet - and they were half in the lane of travel when the black SUV's pulled up around them. Logan stepped back and crouched, his claws out with a ringing _snikt_ that had Scott startled for an instant until the door opened to reveal Quartermain.

"Come on - they're looking for you," he called out - anxious when he saw the glistening adamantium.

With a nod and a glare over his shoulder, Logan retracted his claws and the two of them hastily climbed into the vehicle to disappear.

Once they were on the road, Logan let his head tip back to rest on the back of the seat for a moment. This had to be the first time in his memory that he'd gotten away that clean. There was almost always a big fight if he let them get that close. And although their information was incomplete … it was pretty clear they knew exactly where to hit.

"So … I saw these guys," Scott said, tipping his chin toward the agents in the front of the car. "Is there another big secret mission or something?"

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "That - you didn't see all of it, but there were other guys too. Plain clothes. Had the look down for the area, except for the fancy haircuts. They've been watching. At least enough to get confirmation."

Scott looked surprised for just an instant before his mind started going into gear. "What happens after they have confirmation?"

"They send in a recovery unit," Quartermain answered. "Or in his case - several units."

"SHIELD sent in someone to grab the files from the new place," Logan told Scott, ignoring Quartermain's commentary. "Give it a week or two and the Department will move on. Hell. If they saw SHIELD take us outta there, they'll back off all together for a while." He leaned forward so he was looking between the two agents in the front seat. "Think you could make sure they see that I'm in your custody?"

"We can take our time at the airport," Quartermain offered. "Unless you want them to think that we're arresting you."

But Logan shook his head as he sat back in his seat with a sigh. "Nah. Even they aren't stupid enough to think I'd let you arrest me. Just make sure they _don't_ see the kid if you can help it. I caught one of 'em looking for Scott."

Scott looked understandably concerned as his head whipped toward Logan and the fear scent in the vehicle spiked.

"Take it easy," Logan said in a laid back drawl. "I took care of it."

"What does that mean?" Scott asked, the distress still plain to hear, though Logan was not looking right at the boy.

"It means … I took care of it. You never knew he was there, right?"

"Don't feel bad, Scott. We … didn't know they were there yet," Quartermain added. "We knew they were coming …"

"We're gonna get outta town for a little while," Logan said. "Hopefully you don't get too far behind."

"Yeah, that's not as important right now," Scott said with a nod.

"Right. Important thing is that you're fine," Logan agreed.

"And those guys didn't get to you," Scott added.

Logan just shook his head to himself, but didn't want the kid getting worked up. "So where are we headed, Quartermain?"

"Fury said he wanted you out of sight and secure," Quartermain said. "Cap said he didn't want you getting riled thinking that SHIELD was trying to box you in."

"So who won that argument?" Logan said, finally glancing Scott's way, amused as always at the hopeful expression on his face.

"Cap, of course," Coulson replied for Quartermain with a smirk of his own.

"Coulson got your files and your cash during the last period," Quartermain explained.

"And - I made sure to grab you some clothes, Scott," Coulson said. "There isn't much we have around in your sizes. By the time we get to New York, it'll be late, but you can pick something up I'm sure."

Scott perked up at that, as suddenly he was pretty sure he knew exactly where they were headed. And it did indeed mean more time with Captain America.


	21. 890 Fifth Avenue New York, NY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Digs for the boys

As Coulson had predicted it was late by the time the group got to the Avengers mansion in New York. The building was massive and lit architecturally to showcase several of the mansions' more elaborate features. Scott had seen the place on the news and in the paper, and it was clear that the boy didn't think that the reports had done it any justice. He stared at the sheer size of the place as they got out of the car, and did a double take as Logan simply headed toward the doors as if he was meant to be there all along. Out of place as he was.

The butler that ran the place met them before they could enter and kindly introduced himself as 'Jarvis', promising that they would be relocated to the Tower once it was finished - if they were still around. He was particularly kind to Scott, and seemed a bit wary of Logan as he took the two wayward mutants to their rooms - next to each other, of course. Before he left them for the evening, he was sure to inform them of what they could expect the next day. "Breakfast will be served off the kitchen starting at Seven. Coffee service begins at Six thirty."

Logan nodded and thanked him before he just watched the well dressed gentleman head off before he and Scott shared a look and Logan was sure to make it clear to Scott. "Let me know if you get a bad feelin' about this. I'll pull the plug."

But Scott saw for just an instant that Logan looked like he was already set to run. Though if it was at the idea of being with this group of heroes or under SHIELD custody, Scott just wasn't entirely sure. "If Cap is with them, I'm sure it'll be fine for a few days anyhow," Scott said as diplomatically as he could. He held the files in his arms a little tighter, reminding himself that if he had time off and away from school, he could at least try to soldier through Logan's file.

Logan saw the little movement when Scott held tighter to the files and nodded in agreement before the young man headed into his room. For a moment, Logan considered doing the same, though he couldn't possibly relax  _not_ knowing a few exits out. He left the door open and silently headed off to stalk through the mansion and find his exit strategies as Scott settled into his room.

The next morning, Scott woke up with the sun .. unintentionally of course. After all the excitement and the exertion from his game, he would have been more than happy to sleep late, but it was just that his room apparently faced the east that when the sun broke over the horizon line - it acted as an alarm clock of sorts. He dragged himself out of bed and took his time getting dressed and ready for the day. He really should have checked the place out - or gotten a basic breakdown of where everything was in the mansion before he went to bed. But it was a little late for that, so he did the next best thing and followed his nose to the smell of breakfast cooking.

He sleepily made his way through the ornate halls until he found Logan - and Cap, of course - with their heads together and drinking coffee in the morning sun. It wasn't until he got closer that Scott overheard what the two of them were saying, and it sounded suspiciously like something that needed intervention. Scott frowned to himself and decided to go see what was happening just in time to see the two older men simply straighten up and invite Scott into their hushed discussion.

"So … what's going on?" Scott asked, looking between the two of them. Something  _had_ to be up.

"Nothing," Logan replied, though Steve didn't like the answer.

"I'm trying to get him to relax a little bit," Steve explained with a smirk. "He looks like he's ready to bolt. I don't think he likes the layout of this place. Too many windows."

Scott settled into a frown and watched his guardian for a few moments. "Have you even gone to bed?"

Logan opened his mouth to say something but Steve beat him to it.

"No he has not," Steve replied, though that actually got Logan to reach out and crack him one in the arm that Steve had him hissing out a little 'hey' as he rubbed the spot.

"'M not tired," Logan answered, glaring at Steve just the slightest.

"Sure it doesn't have anything to do with all the coffee you've been drinking?" Scott asked dryly with one eyebrow raised.

"It might if it had any effect on me," Logan replied, shaking his head at the both of them. "Don't worry about it. I didn't do much of anything yesterday. I'm not tired yet."

"You look like hell," Steve said frankly as he got up to get another cup of coffee. "You know. Like you've been pacing or something all night."

"I'm  _fine_ , damnit," Logan insisted, though he was pinching the bridge of his nose over the tag team effort. "There are reasons I prefer the woods, Cap."

"I know," Steve said from across the room. "But there are reasons that the city's useful too. Things like … back up."

"More people to get hurt, you mean," Logan replied irritably and under his breath.

"You're going to have to take a break sooner or later," Steve said. "Go ahead. I'll keep watch for you."

Logan's response was a simple one - to growl Steve's way and flat refuse to reply to anything else. But to his credit, Steve caught on quickly and just let out a sigh, dropping the subject altogether for the time being.

"The rest of the Avengers will be in and out. The mansion is nice, but we're prepping to move our operations into Stark Tower," Steve said, now more toward Scott than Logan. "I'm sure Jarvis will clue them in to your presence before you run into anyone."

Scott wasn't exactly sure what to do with that information - outside of just wait and see where it was going to lead, though the fact that he knew he had at the minimum a few days with nothing pressing to do was a nice change of pace. He drew in a deep breath and looked around the place, appraising everything he could see.

This was, by Logan's own admission, a safe place to be. So why in the world was he so tense about it? He frowned to himself as he tried to work it out. Unsecured place, he understood. But. Logan knew this was one of the few places on the planet that the Department wouldn't come looking. It was frustrating trying to figure him out sometimes.

After breakfast, and before any of the Avengers could pop in, Scott headed back to his room to keep working his way through the file. He wasn't making much progress … that or the lighting in the mansion wasn't as bright somehow now that the morning sun had moved to the other side of the building. It just felt as if it was slow going.

He didn't notice when there was a gentle knock on the open door until his visitor knocked a second time and called his name. When he looked up, it was Steve, leaning against the jamb with a frown.

"Please don't tell me you've picked up Logan's rotten habit of self isolating," Steve said as he stepped inside. "What are you doing in here anyhow?"

Scott sat up straighter where he was sitting on the bed and just gestured to the papers in front of him. "I'm … trying to help him figure out well, everything," Scott replied.

Steve frowned deeply on hearing that and almost glared at the papers. "He's letting you just … he knows you have all this stuff?"

"Yeah," Scott replied. "He's got a policy … no lies, that kind of thing. And … I want to help."

"It's also a lot easier for him to just hand that over to someone he trusts than to just  _tell_ someone what happened," Steve said, looking irritated. "There is little to nothing in that file you should read." He shook his head and made his way over to pull a chair up nearby and then made sure to pick up the nearest page, intent on reading through the file with him.

"Don't -" Scott warned, one hand outstretched. "I have an order to things. And I haven't gotten through the redacted parts on that stack yet. Not really."

"It's redacted for a reason," Steve said, though he did put the paper back where he'd found it.

"Right. I know." Scott said with a nod. "And if it's like the rest of what I've found, it's because the guys that wrote it were covering their butts." He stopped for a second and found himself trying to recover his composure after realizing what he'd just said. "I don't know what's legal and what's not - but I do know that what they did wasn't  _right._  And they didn't want anyone to know about it."

When that didn't get anything but that same open look from Steve, Scott let out a sigh and started to explain how he'd managed to get around some of the redacted sections - and then went so far as to hand him the notes that he'd amassed - alongside Logan's notations in the margins.

"I don't have any distractions here," Scott explained as Steve started to help him. "So if I don't have anything going on … why not try to solve this mystery?"

"Maybe because you don't need to know what they did," Steve suggested. "A kid shouldn't know this stuff has happened to anyone, let alone the guy in charge of keeping you safe."

"My age isn't going to stop these guys coming after me - and Logan said they did," Scott pointed out. "If I'm in it, I want to know what we're up against. I  _need_ to be able to help, because I'm part of this now. Or what was the point of making it all official if I can't protect my family?"

"I'm pretty sure we have the protection detail down right now," Steve replied with a little smirk. "That  _is_ how you got here, isn't it? And they have no reason to go after you if it's not to get to him. Fury has all this information himself. He's been over it. We've got this part."

But Scott just shook his head. "I appreciate that, I really do, but you've only got this part because you  _know_ about it," he explained. "You didn't know about it before - and I'll bet you didn't know about the State Home for Foundlings either."

Steve frowned and tipped his head to the side. "Why don't you tell me about it then?"

"Didn't Logan tell you how he found me?" Scott asked, though as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he almost laughed. "No, never mind." He shook his head. "The people in this file aren't the only ones out there doing... " He gestured wordlessly at the papers he had spread out. "There was a crazy doctor at the orphanage where Logan found me doing his own kind of experimentation. Logan got me out… but I can tell you that guy didn't let  _my age_ stop him, and he'd been at that place for a while."

"What did he do?" Steve asked in a lot less stern tone. "I'll see what we can do to deal with them."

"He's not there anymore - Logan, ah, stabbed him," Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So it would fall more into 'unsolved murder'," Steve said dryly.

"Maybe," Scott admitted. "Though I don't know if anyone knew the guy was there, and I  _know_ nobody knew about the setup he had in the basement, so… maybe not."

"Let sleeping dogs lie there," Steve said quietly. "So … you're trying to return the favor then?"

Scott frowned as he thought about it. "Maybe that's part of it, but - you need to read some of these notations. Logan isn't the only one they messed with, and they've got a whole list of criteria that…" He let out a breath.

"You're right, he's not the only one they messed with," Steve agreed. "But those guys … they're a lot nastier than just one creep."

"Believe me, I know," Scott said, tipping his head at the paper he had in front of him. "But you tell me this - do you think  _they'd_ let something like age stop them?"

"No," Steve admitted. "I don't."

"So I'm not going to let it stop me from helping," Scott said as if it was obvious. "Besides, I'd rather be prepared than find out the hard way."

Steve let out a breath and just held his gaze for a moment. "Alright then. How about I help you out?"

Scott nodded and wordlessly gestured to a spot nearby. "Sure."


	22. Help and Interference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys find themselves in new surroundings, but ... there is both help and irritation where it was least expected.

It wasn't until a few days after Logan and Scott were settled in that Steve talked Scott into taking his study material to the kitchen, where he promised the light was better, snacks were far more readily available - and the interruptions would be more brief, since … whoever it was looking for Steve wouldn't feel like they'd walked two city blocks to find him holed up with Scott working.

The only drawback of that, of course, was that there were simply _more_ brief interruptions. Steve had been sure to warn Janet to not judge on the kid's project material - and even advised her not to touch it, let alone read it since - it wasn't exactly an Avengers matter - _officially_. For now. But she still managed to stick around and try to help however she could - mostly playing interference when Hank would come up from his experiments in a mood and feeling confrontational.

For Scott, it was a real lesson in interpersonal relationships - and it was clear right off the bat that Janet had the patience of Job to deal with Hank when he was in a mood. He was _not_ in a mood however when he appeared one afternoon for a short break and a refill on his coffee - and to observe the two 'guests' as Steve worked with them on figuring out where most of this trainwreck had occurred.

It was clear right away that Logan was worn out, _and_ that paperwork simply was not his forte. At all. Particularly since Steve and Scott were working over a map trying to find a location and Logan was a few seats down pressing on a few pressure points near the inner corner of his eyes, jaw locked and clearly trying not to growl.

"You ever get around to taking a nap or something?" Pym asked, only to get a hard glare from Logan as answer. "I'm sure I can help with that. There has to be something in the lab that would work around your healing abilities and knock you out for a little while."

There was a heartbeat of silence as both Scott and Steve just watched Logan - of all the things that Hank could have said to put him on edge, that had to be at the top of the list. And Logan's body language was loud and clear.

He'd tensed up ready to spring in an instant, a laser focus on Hank as his hackles were clearly raised. "I'm fine," Logan ground out through clenched teeth, but Hank was ignoring - or missing the clear warnings.

"It'd only take a minute, and obviously you need it," Hank said with a shrug. "I'll just go grab something real quick. You probably won't even feel it."

"Come at me with a needle and I'll jam it through your skull," Logan replied evenly and quietly. "I said. No."

"Aren't you a little old to be afraid of needles?" Hank said with a frown, and like that, Logan was on his feet and Cap was between them, both hands on Logan's shoulders to stop him.

"C'mon, Cap ...let him go. It could be fun to watch the show," Tony said mildly, grinning as he leaned against the doorway.

"He's serious, Tony," Steve said shaking his head.

Tony just chuckled as he pushed off from the doorway. "Yeah, and tell me it wouldn't be funny to watch him try and get past Jan - either of them."

Steve smirked the slightest. "I still don't want that to happen," he said, shaking his head still. "You have no idea what you're talking about here."

"Me?" Tony shook his head. "You underestimate me, Cap. I'm wounded." He put his hand to his heart for emphasis. "SHIELD is _not_ hard to peek into for a total genius. Fury really needs to try harder and Hank, you really don't want to piss him off. As entertaining as it would be."

"Is there something you wanted, Tony? Or are you just stirring up trouble and hiding behind 'protecting' your teammates?"

"Yeah, actually. The coffee is here," Tony pointed out as he made a show of heading over behind Steve and Scott to the pot.

Logan was watching him openly, as Scott seemed to suddenly not like the sensation of someone hovering behind him. When it was clear Tony wasn't going anywhere, Scott finally turned a bit to look up at him as he leaned against the counter with his mug.

Steve also turned toward him and set the papers in his hands down. "Do you mind, Tony?"

"Not at all - carry on," Tony said, waving one hand before he crossed his arm over his chest and lifted the mug to his lips.

Steve let out a breath. "Then … maybe you can stand somewhere else? You know. So you don't piss off the new guy?"

Tony looked between Steve and Logan for a moment before he finally let out a breath and shrugged, taking his coffee further down the table. "Touchy."

"Anything on your mind, or is this a mission of mercy of some sort?" Steve asked.

"Well … I heard there was a kid hanging around - but … this .. this looks like a small adult," Tony said, gesturing to Scott. "Where is the whimsy?" He frowned and leaned forward in his chair. "What size are you?"

"Scott, do not let him dress you," Steve said, chuckling to himself. "You look fine. He's just … five years old. Mentally."

"Says the man who hit his prime in 1941." Tony snapped his fingers to get Scott's attention. "Hey. Don't listen to the old man. He doesn't know what he's talking about." But when Scott didn't respond more than to just overtly try to ignore him, Tony persisted. "Do you have a girlfriend back … wherever … that look is considered okay?"

Scott's jaw tightened a hair as he let out a breath and finally looked up at Tony, the papers set down momentarily. "Not exactly," Scott said.

"Good! Don't fall for that 'relationship' nonsense," Tony said before he cocked his head to the side. "What are you anyhow, really? Maybe … medium? You look somewhere in the middle to me." Without another word, or any confirmation from Scott, Tony nodded to himself and simply got up to head out of the room. "Please don't stab me," he called out over his shoulder. "I am trying to help."

"I hate this place," Logan muttered. "When can we get outta here, Cap?"

"We're still waiting on intel to say if it's clear. They seemed to think they could hang out and catch you on your return."

"Figures," Logan grumbled before he slid back and rested his forehead on his crossed arms.

"Go to sleep, Logan," Steve said. "No one is going to bother you, and I'm sure no one is suicidal enough to think they could sneak up on you."

He glanced up at Steve and Scott, then around the room before he finally just let out a low, growl of 'fine' and got up to slip off to his room - that he obviously hadn't used yet.

"Yeah, he's … never been really friendly with new places," Steve said after he knew Logan was long gone. "But - if you're right - and we can sift through all this and find him some answers, maybe he'll lighten up a little bit." He paused. "We can hope."

As soon as Logan was gone and Scott relaxed a little more around the remaining people in the room, Janet made her way over to sit next to Scott. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked, not touching any of the papers that were laid out in Scott's intricate organizational system.

"Um, we're good I think," Scott said to her quietly. "I'm not sure Logan wants everyone reading his stuff, though, so … no thanks."

She frowned at that and just couldn't help but glance over his shoulder and frown deeper at seeing a few of the papers. "That is a _lot_ of black ink. Makes you wonder why they bothered keeping them around at all. Usually with that much redacted? There should be a clean copy somewhere - otherwise they would have just shredded it."

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked setting the paper he was working on down before he turned her way.

She gave him a smile and pointed to the paper in his hand. "They had to redact it for anyone outside of the high pay grade to see. But there has to be another copy of it." She gave him a conspiratorial smile. "See - they had to prove to the government that the project they _said_ they'd do was done. This is all about money right here. No reports, no papers - no paycheck."

"That … is actually a really good point," Steve said, just then looking down at the papers in front of him. "Where do you think Canada keeps its most dirty secrets?"

Janet just laughed for a moment. "Why? Are you going to start a war with them? Come on, Cap. I'm pretty sure Canada has _plenty_ of places to hide something if they don't want anyone to find it. And who would go looking? It's _Canada._ They're like the really nice neighbors everyone wants to have next door."

She shook her head and got up, pulling Hank along with her to leave the two of them to their work, though Hank was glancing back toward them from time to time, obviously coming up with some conclusions of his own.

When he was sure they were both gone, Scott finally quit jiggling his foot. "You know … if Logan gets on that same train of thought - he's going to go looking."

"And he'll try to do it alone," Steve agreed. "So let's not let him do that."

When Scott finally returned to his room - file in hand with pages and pages of new notations, he stopped short when he saw the stacks of clothes waiting for him on his bed.

He looked over his shoulder and then slowly made his way over to the dresser to set the file down, and when he went over to the clothes, he had to frown. There was very little that he would have ever picked out on that bed. All of the t-shirts had a band logo on them - and frankly, Scott preferred a clean look when it came to his shirts - nothing that cluttered up the solid color, or better still, plain white or black with an overshirt was best.

The jeans were nice though - and he was grateful for those at least - until he saw that several pairs of jeans had the knees shredded. He pulled a face at seeing that and set those aside. There was no way he was going to wear purposely trashed blue jeans. Ever.

But, when he headed back to the dresser to pull out some clean clothes before he took his shower, he was surprised to find that _someone_ had removed all of his old clothes. All that was left was the new 'wardrobe' that was laid out for him.

His jaw locked and he glared down at what was available, though he knew exactly who he had to 'thank' for that little surprise. He just had no idea what he could do about it.

He ran his hand through his hair and let all his breath out in a huff before he headed off to get cleaned up. When he came back out, he grumbled to himself all over at the clothes available and finally yanked one over his head that he thought was the least obnoxious - all things considered.

When he got down to where all of them, Logan included, were gathered up he looked around the group and just gave Tony a glare as the billionaire grinned - delighted with the kids' choice in logos.

"I didn't have you pegged for Pink Floyd, but … it suits you, yes, good," Tony said, grinning.

"I want my clothes back," Scott said flatly as he made his way over to stand next to Logan and Steve. "I look ridiculous."

"Okay, first things first - no - can't do that. Donated them to charity," Tony said. "And secondly - you look _great_. You're dressed like kids your age!"

"Then what does that say about you?" Scott shot back, though he regretted it almost as quickly as he'd said it.

Logan outright laughed, and Steve barely held back enough to not do the same, though he was chuckling as he said "Kid has a point, Tony."

Tony didn't have an immediate response, but Janet was on task. "I'll take you shopping tomorrow," she promised. "No sense letting Tony dress you. If he gets away with it on you, he'll try to do the same to everyone else."

"Great," Steve said, clapping a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Logan and I will be gone for a couple days anyhow. Jan will help you with whatever you'd like."

Scott stopped and turned fully to look at both of them. "Where are you going?"

"Just … getting Logan out of the house before Tony gets hurt, or Hank tries to drug him," Steve said, though Scott spotted the lie pretty easily.

"No. Really," Scott said. "What are you two up to?"

"Just a little hunting," Logan said - at least hitting closer to the truth, or being vaguely accurate anyhow.

"For?"

"Trouble." Logan gave him a little smirk - the first he'd seen since they got to the Avenger's headquarters. "Cap says these guys are alright. We won't be long. Don't worry."

Steve pulled Scott over to sit by him over dinner, deciding that he'd give the kid a heads up and let him know that the two of them were headed up into Canada to do a little poking around in an abandoned facility. "There's not much there, or at least - there shouldn't be," Steve told him. "But it's on the short list of possible sites and maybe, maybe we'll get lucky and find something useful." he leaned closer to Scott to whisper the last of his thoughts. "And I _don't_ want him going alone."

"I can go alone just fine," Logan said, his teeth on edge as he tried not to look Cap's way. "No reason to risk your spangles and stars."

"I'm not wearing my uniform," Steve said, sounding offended. "All black, right? I thought that was the plan."

"I'm fine going in yellow and lettin' 'em know who's kickin' the door in," Logan replied easily before he took a long drink of water.

"No," Scott and Steve both said in unison, getting Logan to stop and look between them for a moment.

"Well now I really want to," Logan said, though it was clear that Scott didn't appreciate the sentiment. "Oh relax. I'm not going to do anything that fun. Probably gonna need Cap to drag me out from too much dust and funk in there."

"Is that a problem?" Scott asked before he could censor himself. "Stuff like that with your senses?"

"No. Not really. Strong scents, sure but dust just makes you sneeze," Logan replied in a flat tone. It was clear from the snarky commentary that just the idea of getting out of that place - even for a day or so was enough to put Logan in a better mood. It should have gotten Scott to relax, but somehow ...

Scott let out a sigh that made it sound like the weight of the world was on his shoulders and before he could get too far into it, Logan put his hand on the kid's shoulder. "I'm not leaving you here in this nuthouse with these crazies. Not for any extended time. Not without me to keep their stupid from catching. I _will_ be back before you know it."

Scott rolled his eyes but nodded all the same. He couldn't exactly tell Logan that half his frustration was from not being _allowed_ to help, not knowing how, really. "Yeah, and next time you see me, I'll look more like myself," he said instead.


	23. Mess With the Wasp - Get the Stinger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> APOLOGIES - For Skipping the previous chapter. Please forgive me, check out the actual chapter 22, and then come back for Scott and Janet's day out. <3
> 
> (prescription drugs are bad, kids.)

Jan was in a great mood at the prospect of helping Scott shop, and Scott was admittedly a little overwhelmed at the sheer size of the tall buildings and incredible number of people around him. It wasn't something that he was even remotely accustomed to - and even if he thought he was, New York was just far bigger than anywhere he'd ever been before.

It was humbling. And also more than a little dizzying as he looked up at the towering buildings around him. But Scott tried to push past it and ignore the sensory overload that was surrounding him from all angles.

And Jan helped with that. Just about the time that Scott had reached his limit, she pulled him into a shop and told him to start finding whatever it was he wanted. "Since he's the one that put you in this spot, we're working on Tony's cards, so don't feel bad. Especially after that stupid stunt he pulled."

Scott just nodded wordlessly and focused on finding a few things in his size. He knew what he wanted, and as long as it fit right and the knees weren't distressed, he was happy with it. It wasn't hard to find several good shirts and a few jeans, though Jan kept pointing out a few other things just when he was sure that they were completely done. Though even after she'd overinflated the amount of clothes he needed by at least twice, he had to admit that he did like a few of the sweaters she picked out.

When the two of them had finally finished and Scott had taken a hard line, insisting he didn't need to go nuts - "I just wanted to replace what he got rid of - not get a whole house full of clothes," he insisted - they finally started toward the Mansion. Jan was swinging her bags and telling him all about her new suit that Hank was working on - increased speed, better maneuverability - the works.

They were only a few streets away from the Mansion when their day went south and the pair of them were very suddenly surrounded by armed men in head to toe black, weapons drawn. The lead soldier didn't get very far in his demands, though, before Jan sprang into action.

She started out simply by attacking the nearest soldier, yanking the weapon out of his hands and springing in front of Scott to shoot one of the men in the leg - and then she really got mad when she realized that they were using live rounds with a teenager involved.

With an outraged kind of sound, she threw the weapon at the lead soldier and pushed her sleeves up. She didn't give any other warning on what she was about to do, though when she got to a point where she needed Scott out of her way, she simply pushed him down and stepped around him before she started firing off her stingers on full blast. It took no time at all for her to level the soldiers singlehandedly.

When she spun back around to face Scott, the color was bright on her cheeks and she snatched up her shopping bags with a grumble. "We need to move quicker. I can't believe they'd even … ugh! Why would they try that so close to the mansion! Who the heck are these idiots?"

Scott stared for just an instant before he followed suit, but even then, he had to rush to keep up - and Jan was all but marching back at a surprisingly quick pace, her bags swinging as she moved and grumbled to herself. When they got back, she made a beeline for Stark to demand he figure out exactly who those idiots were as she outlined exactly how mad she was - that Scott was there for the attack.

"Well you know what the real problem is," Tony said. "You shouldn't have been out shopping. It was needless."

"Oh, knock it off, he's not going to dress the way you want him to so just … stop." She turned toward Scott. "I'm sorry that happened. Are you alright?"

"They didn't really … have a chance with the way you worked them over."

She beamed at him for a moment. "Of course they didn't. Why would they? I'm an Avenger - they … were just … creepy soldiers from … what? Where did Cap say they were from?"

"Canada," Tony supplied.

Jan wrinkled her nose. "Well that's just … weird. Canada's an ally. And … Canada."

"That's what Cap said," Tony replied. "Big bad snow hosers. Nothing we can do about it but wait to see what those two come up with."

Jan blinked then stared at Scott for a second, putting it together that these were the people that had pulled off whatever they'd done with Logan. But all that did was make her furrow her brow deeper. "Do you think they tried to grab Scott because they're after Scott, or …is this a bait situation to pick up their missing asset?"

"What would they be after the kid for exactly?" Hank asked as he joined their conversation. "He's just a kid." He gave Scott an appraising look. "Or are you hiding some secrets too?"

"No, I'm pretty sure they were after Logan," Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck as his ears turned red. "They did try to come after me at the hockey game though … Logan took care of them before they got to me. I'm sure it's bait."

"Well that's just … unacceptable," Jan said, her hands on her hips. "What kind of creeps would use a kid?"

Scott had no idea how to react other than to just shrug up one shoulder and start to retreat from the conversation, but it was obvious that Jan wasn't going to accept that.

"Oh no," she said, abandoning her purchases and helping him pick up a few of his bags. "You are going to tell me all about this creepy group while we put your new clothes away," she informed him before spinning on the spot to point Tony's way. "And you won't touch his things again, got it, Iron Man?"

Tony put both hands up and took a step back. "Not touching a thing," he defended as Jan glared hard at him.

"Good. Remember that," Jan said then put one hand on Scott's shoulders. "Okay. Why are these people after your friend?"

On the other side of the continent, Logan and Steve were in the middle of nowhere. Literally. They were a few hundred miles from the arctic circle nearly to Alaska, where there was supposed to be an old base.

The only trouble was that there was no real sign of the place outside of a few previously well worn roads that had become quite overgrown. None of the sensors in the quinjet showed anything of use. The few entrances that they could find had been caved in - blown by charges. They looked around for hours to find an alternate entrance, but it was clear that they just weren't getting into that place without the proper equipment.

But it was pretty clear they were on the right track when as they were heading back to the jet, a small fleet of black helicopters came up out of the east.

Logan had heard them before Cap, and pulled him along at a run until they were well hidden in a nearby cave - deep enough from the entrance that if they had been using thermal cameras, they wouldn't have found the two of them.

"Why are we hiding?" Cap asked, just trying to see where Logan's head was at, but Logan was clearly triggered by something as he stared up at the helicopters almost wide eyed, his heart hammering in his ears for too long of a moment.

"I'm not going to be the guy that dragged Captain America into the mud," Logan replied finally, watching to see where the choppers were headed, almost cringing back further into the cage when he saw them circling back.

Steve didn't comment, though he could see he was going to have trouble helping Logan out if that was his outlook while working with him there. "If you were alone, you'd go after them, wouldn't you?" Steve asked, though Logan refused to answer beyond just glancing at him over his shoulder.

As Steve got himself properly insulted - and more than ready for a fight not only with the creeps in the helicopters, but with Logan too ... Logan finally spoke up.

"They're leaving," he said. "We should get going before this turns into an international incident. Pretty sure that's not what your fancy little team needs right now."

Steve just stared at him for a moment. He couldn't quite believe his ears. That Logan was trying to protect his image. While these creeps were after the guy's life.

But Logan wasn't too concerned with Steve's feelings. The truth was, now that they were out there in the woods - in danger of the Department catching up to him, the last thing he wanted was to risk Steve's reputation just for his worthless animal self.

As they moved, Steve tried to get Logan's focus back. "Hey. We can find out what we're looking for if we go after them now," Steve said, though he didn't miss the concentrated look on Logan's face that seemed almost as if the smaller man was sick.

Logan ignored his questions and instead pushed to get Steve moving - and back to where he belonged. He was sure to make note of the spot for when he had more time to investigate it alone. Later in the year, in the summer when Scott would be distracted with fishing and flying lessons with Harry.

Whatever was in that base had to be something that the suits absolutely didn't want anyone poking at, and now at least, Logan knew what kind of security would respond the next time he tripped off their sensors.

In the jet, Logan still refused to answer Steve's questions, and though Steve didn't know it, it was in large part because the lump in his throat from the overwhelming sense of guilt simply wouldn't let him speak. He couldn't explain it, even to himself, but the very idea of pulling someone into the thick of whatever this was - not on paper, but actually out there - was more than Logan could bear.

Once they were back in American airspace, Cap radioed ahead to check in - he'd needed that much time to make sure he wasn't irritated when he reached out - honestly insulted that Logan wasn't going to let him into the fight if he could avoid it.

So he was more than a little angry when he heard that some special forces people had made an attempt on Scott. "You can't just go back to that sleepy little berg," Steve said after he switched the radio off. "You'll have no back up, no support - and nowhere to hide. And they will grab that kid the very first chance they get. Try and tell me I'm wrong."

"Not gonna happen, Cap," Logan said. "Kid'll be safe."

"I know what you're capable of. I know you have an insane lucky streak too. But it doesn't change things. You need backup."

"And you don't need a teenager and a rabid animal hangin' dragging you down," Logan countered. "Last I checked, the Avengers weren't looking to be a halfway house. We'll be fine."

Steve just shook his head, irritated and a little bit shocked at both Logan's response and his personal view of himself, but he thought he had an ace in the hole once they got back. He was sure Scott would go along with him - and want to stay at the mansion. It's not like it was a secret that the kid liked Captain America. So the first thing he did when they got back was ask Jan and Scott to tell him what happened, and then as they relayed how their trip to the city had gone. Steve just kept giving Logan little looks that made it plain that he thought anything but staying close - at least for the time being - was a mistake.

"What do you think, Scotty?" Logan asked as he sat back in his seat, his arms crossed. "Stay here, go back, or find somewhere new?"

For a moment, Scott seemed to take a moment to think about it, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously at being the center of the attention. "Well, we can't go back," he said at last. "Those guys were at the school; they would know where to find us if we tried to do that." He paused and glanced at Steve. "But it's not like they don't know where we are if we stay here, either, and I don't really want to stay holed up here until they get bored of waiting us out - if they get bored."

"They won't," Logan pointed out. "So like before then." He clapped one hand on his knee. "Pick a direction."

"West, then," Scott said with a nod.

"Anywhere in particular?" Logan asked.

"Not really. But north is Canada, and east is the ocean, so…"

"And Southern Hospitality only goes so far," Logan agreed. "Grab a map and pick a spot. A state anyhow."

At that, Scott nodded and got up to leave. "I'll pack up."

But the Avengers could hardly believe their ears. "You can't be serious. You … no one just chooses a direction and wanders into it," Steve said.

"It worked pretty well before," Scott said in defense of Logan's methods. "Logan has a system - don't worry."

"And what happens if they catch up to you anyhow?" Steve challenged. "How are you even going to get there?"

Scott paused. "Well, is there a way we could call you? Just in case?" he asked.

"Of course," Jan said, pulling out her comm from her pocket and handed it to Scott with a warm smile. "Both of you should have one. Tony can have them ready by morning. Can't you, Tony?"

"Sure," Stark replied getting to his feet, frowning her way when she saw the severe expression on her face. "Two way just in case we need to reach you with vital information. Might help your sneaky escape if you don't have half a dozen SHIELD vehicles trolling through town like last time."

Cap took a hold of Logan's arm, stopping him in his tracks as Scott headed off to pack. "You don't need to do this alone," Steve told him with a genuinely concerned look on his face.

Logan nodded and let out a sigh. "I appreciate pullin' us outta there before the Department could pick us up, but I think both of us know you really don't need me around right now. You're trying to build up your image with this team - build some confidence. I'm not the kind of guy anyone will ever trust. Now. If you need a dark mission partner - I'll make sure to let you know where to find me."

"Wait, don't … just let us get a visual for you on the spots across the country with the worst concentrations of anti-mutant sentiment," Steve said. "Maybe that'll help pick your spot."

But Logan just laughed. "Just because it's not reported doesn't mean it's a good spot, Cap. I don't have a visible physical mutation, or a beacon … no sign around my neck or anything that glaring that lets anyone know anything about me I don't want 'em to." He extended both arms out at his sides. "Besides. What the hell do you think I've been doing since I left Department H? I know what to avoid and how to avoid it."

Steve just watched him go, frustrated that there wasn't a better way to handle things that the two of them would adhere to.


	24. Adrift Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys need to find a new place to lay low - but this time they have Tony and Steve 'helping' them.

It took the two travelers almost a week to make it to their new destination. The way to their new soon to be home was winding and meant that there were lots of spots to avoid just because they were hotspots for anti-mutant activity. For the long term, several places had been knocked off the list outright - pretty much anything near Nebraska, the majority of the south, and the entirety of the south west, simply because Logan was not a fan of the lack of green hiding spots.

When all was said and done, Tony Stark's generosity had set them up with a lot better accommodations and wheels than they'd left behind in the north woods. It was kind of necessary though considering that they had to cross the entire country to find a spot that Logan and Scott both were comfortable with.

And when they finally hit Yachats, Oregon … they both agreed that it was exactly the kind of place they wanted to lay low. Naturally, Tony had some contacts … it seemed he had contacts everywhere … and because of that, they found themselves in exactly the kind of place to lay low that Tony Stark would have picked out.

It was an ocean side, overly large house, but it was at least definitely in the realm of secluded and hard to reach. In fact, Stark's security around the place was pretty damn tight, and it only started with the gated drive and the fenced in property.

"Well, at least he hit _one_ of my requirements," Logan muttered to himself as they started to look around the sprawling house. "I don't know what I was thinking trusting him to come up with something _subtle_."

"It's more subtle than the place in New York," Scott said quietly. "Not that it counts for much."

Scott completely missed the amused little smirk he got from Logan for that, and the two of them took the next couple hours settling in as best they could in the far more ritzy surroundings. "We're not going to _stay_ in this place," Logan said - sure to clarify his intentions. "I do _not_ want to be here any longer than we have to. If nothing else - just because it's Stark's idea and I don't like the idea of owing him anything."

"Agreed," Scott said, looking at the marble counter tops in the kitchen and the hardwood through the whole main floor. "This is a little … much."

"I'll start the search tomorrow," Logan agreed. "Probably oughta look into getting you set up with school - unless you're going full rebel and dropping out …"

"No," Scott said quickly. "I want to finish." Though, he was smirking at him as he unpacked his bag with what he'd need for a few days. Steve had tried to get him to leave Logan's file behind, but Scott had insisted that it was something that he wanted to look into himself. Though, he did ask Dr. Pym the few questions that he'd been unable to find the answers to before they left. Of course, it didn't do anything for his cringe factor when he heard what the melting point of adamantium was - or how close it was to the temperature required to simply turn a body to ash. For a while, Scott had thought that Logan was mistaken. That his skeleton had to have been plated through a series of surgeries but when he finally saw the before and after x-rays, he could see that there was no way that it wasn't exactly how it read in the notes - and exactly as Logan had roughly explained it. _Coated in the stuff_. Though from what Scott had seen, scientifically, it was far more likely that what had actually happened was his skeleton was casted somehow. In place, burning away the bone that had been there as if it was wax in a mold.

Scott shivered at that. It had to have been unimaginably painful.

But thankfully, he wasn't going to be rehashing that section if he wanted to both sleep and look his guardian in the eyes, and that particular portion of the file was behind him. Instead, Scott was delving into the section that covered further training. He was only a few pages into his reading when he realized that it had been a while since he and Logan had done any martial arts training. He put the file down and decided to test the acoustics of the overly done, sprawling house. "Hey Logan - can we start training again?" Scott asked at a perfectly normal speaking tone had someone been in the room with him.

It took a moment, but Logan was across the house, and frankly didn't want to shout to answer, so he had gotten up and made his way over to Scott's new room. "Why? You think you're gonna take on the whole of the Department?"

"Couldn't hurt to know how," Scott replied with a shrug. "And sooner or later, like you said, they will probably try _something._ It'd be nice to be able to fight back and not rely on you or the Avengers. You know. In case you're busy."

Logan didn't think long about it before he agreed. "Sure. We'll start up in the morning. We can probably take a few days to figure things out before throwing you back into the high school garbage."

* * *

One thing about the west coast - and being on the ocean with the forest at your back - was that dawn wasn't as invasive as it was in New York. But even with that - the coffee was still brewed on time and as Logan had said - training was an early morning affair.

But after their cross-country trek, Scott was glad to see that Logan's first order of business when starting 'official' training was to begin the day with stretches - and a slow moving thing that he did every day that he called a _kata_ \- though Scott wasn't sure what the purpose of it was just yet.

At any rate, Logan didn't expect Scott to dive into that - yet. And it wasn't until after Logan was done that they stretched out together and got started with the karate/judo/kendo whatever the heck Logan felt like throwing in combination of martial arts. An hour into it, Scott was thankful for the time he'd spent on the hockey team, because it had done wonders to build up some muscle and his endurance.

The moment that Scott seemed winded however, Logan stopped and then led him through an easy cool down and some more _trying_ stretches until both of them were seated cross legged on the ground for some time to meditate.

When the session was done, Scott had to admit that after the past couple of weeks it was nice to get the break. To use his body a little. To breathe. The chance to clear his head was centering.

Logan led the way as the two of them grabbed a bite and Scott went back to his 'research'. Logan's big plan was to head out to see what he could find for work - Cap and Stark's offer to fund their trip notwithstanding, he needed something to do outside of stare out at the very scenic view of the ocean and work through one martial arts after another. If he didn't get to do something useful, he knew he'd be itching for a fight - and that would only call down trouble.

He glanced over at Scott - who was positively buried in his work - and perfectly safe locked up in the house with his Avengers panic button just in case. The kid would be fine while he was out

"Be back before you know it," Logan warned. "I won't be mad if you 'accidentally' burn the place down." Scott smirked at that, but didn't really react beyond the light amusement as Logan stepped out the front door.

Logan headed out quietly, and took his time cautiously scanning the area. Careful as they had been, things could happen, and he wasn't too keen on letting anyone get the jump on him. But the wet roads were pretty empty, if not for the logging trucks and the occasional pick up.

It wasn't hard for Logan to find a little diner and listen to the buzz around town - or to pick up the weekly paper to find somewhere more fitting for the pair of them to lay low. But when he saw what the town was known for athletics wise, he had to smirk. Scott probably wasn't going to like it much as far as extracurriculars went.

Logan paid for his paper and coffee and headed back toward Stark's idea of a quiet hideout, shaking his head more when he saw in daylight exactly how pompous even the entrance looked from the road. "Never again will I trust them to pick somewhere to lay low," he swore to himself.

He passed the drive and kept going a bit further down the road to check out one of the places looking for help. Nothing was available like the job he'd left, and the places that were hiring weren't paying very rich either, but it was better than nothing.

The bar was dirty, and the music droned on in the background. Even though it was early in the afternoon, there were a few people parked at the bar as if they lived there, hunched over their pretzels and beer, staring at God only knows what on the other side of the bar.

The bartender was a tall, gruff fellow, and he looked as if he simply had no time to deal with anyone as he leaned back and crossed his arms as Logan headed to the bar. "What'll it be?" the guy asked, and for a moment Logan had to push back the knee jerk reflex to simply order one on tap. But that would be no way to get what he was after.

"Read you were looking for help."

The bartender frowned and looked him up and down. "You think you can handle the bigger guys, cause I gotta tell ya. You don't look big enough."

Logan smirked. Not the first time he'd heard that. "I do just fine," Logan promised. "Try me out for a day and if you don't think I can do it, I won't charge ya."

The man drew in a breath, his eyebrows raised before he relaxed and uncrossed his arms. "Friday and Saturday are the worst nights. You'll be sure to have to work for it."

"I got no problems workin'," Logan told him.

"I got noone else lined up right now. Some of these boys have a reputation," he warned.

"I got no problems with that either," Logan replied.

The barkeep smirked and nodded his head. "Six o' clock Friday. If you do good, plan on bein' here for Saturday too."

Logan nodded and tipped his hat in thanks before he got up and headed toward the door. Not bad. One day in and he had something lined up.

When he got back to Starks' 'hidden abode', Scott was in the living room, reading over one file with a deep frown and a pencil between his teeth when he wasn't taking notes. "No hockey here," Logan told him.

"I am somehow not surprised," Scott replied distractedly after he moved to make a notation on his paper. "Any luck?"

"Solid maybe on the housing issue," Logan said. "There's a little place in the woods - my preference - end of a long road, no neighbors. It'd be easy to hear 'em comin'."

"But hard to get away from," Scott pointed out, though he just had to roll his eyes when Logan's only response was to shrug and let out a little 'meh'.

"You'll be happy to hear this is a more civilized area though," Logan said. "No fights comin' up that I heard of." Though that was certainly a tease that fell flat as Scott very nearly dropped his hand on the paper next to him as he shot Logan one of his driest looks.

"That's really not funny."

"It really kind of is," Logan argued, dropping into a chair nearby. "Might have a little job lined up. Not as good as the one I had before … but. Pretty good way to keep an eye on things anyhow."

"What is it?" Scott asked, curious on what he could get _that_ fast.

Logan just smirked and when he answered with 'bouncer' Scott wasn't sure if he was serious or not. "Bar down the road, caters to a more lively crowd," Logan explained.

"So … you found another way to get paid to fight …"

"Well when you put it like that…" Logan just smirked a little wider. "There aren't many options around here this time of year. I'll get something less obvious when winter blows over."

Scott just watched him for a moment before he shook his head and picked up the papers again. "This … is frustrating."

"No kiddin'," Logan said, leaning further back. "Why do you think I set it down. Hardly anything there to work with, and what is there - it doesn't feel right. Pretty sure it's more'n a matter of different perspective too."

Scott had to agree, and with a sigh, he gathered it all up so he knew what he'd gone through and what he hadn't to put it away for the night. He had already learned his lesson about reading this stuff too close to time to go to bed. And with the nightmares his imagination was cooking up - he really didn't want to go there.

He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and frowned. The headache he'd been fighting wasn't backing off, and though he'd initially put it up as something akin to travel fatigue, he could finally start to recognize it for what it was. His ability - whatever it was - was starting to flare. That was the best way he could describe it.

He shook his head, frustrated that it was happening _now_. Though he didn't know if there was anything that he could do about it. It was just so … inconvenient. It didn't work when he wanted it to - ever. At least, every time he'd tried, he got nowhere. But now? Now when he had to settle into Tony Stark's freakin' seaside 'cottage' that was decorated more expensively than pretty much anywhere Scott had been before? Now it was going to fire up? "I'm going to bed early," Scott announced in a decidedly down tone.

Logan didn't say anything as the boy headed off, and he was tactful enough not to bring up the fact that the boy was suddenly far more anxious than he had been just a few minutes before - though from what Scott was making notes on, he was sure that the kid knew that Logan would be watching him closer for a while.

When Scott got into his room, he headed for the attached bathroom and washed his face, glad for the cool water - it always seemed to help a little bit - though when he put his glasses back on and looked up at the mirror with his head pounding, he had to just … stop.

He reached over to the light switch and flipped it off, and immediately regretted it as the red _glow_ filled the room - and it seemed to be emitting from behind the ruby quartz lenses. He didn't dare take the glasses off. Not if … whatever he was doing had anything to do with how he'd blasted Logan in the woods.

He reached over and flipped the lights back on, but the glow was still most definitely there. He blinked his eyes hard and tried to focus on … well. Anything but the stupid red glow. He just wanted it off … Scott pressed the pressure points that Logan had taught him, praying silently to himself as he went from one to the next, and then remembering his meditation time, made a point to start to slow and deepen his breathing until he felt calmer, and shortly after that, his head just wasn't hurting like it was before.

Hesitantly, and with his breath held, he opened his eyes, looking in the mirror once again.

His shoulders slumped and he let his breath out in a rush … the glow was gone and all at once, he felt entirely exhausted. Like he could sleep for a week solid. He shook his head and decided to hop in the shower. He still had days of road grime on him from their trip - and he was now officially looking forward to passing out.

He didn't know how to process this. But he needed to think it over and choose his words carefully when he did get a moment to talk to Logan about it. If his eyes were going to _glow_ …. There was no way he'd be able to go to school like that.

When he was done cleaning up, he tried to fall asleep. He really did. But part of the reason that they were even where they were instead of somewhere that he was sure Logan would find that was more secure and with less people was because Scott needed to finish school. He knew that much to be true. But exhaustion was winning out over everything else. Something about his ability flaring up drained him. And though his stomach was twisting in on itself, and he couldn't still his mind, his body made the choice for him and Scott drifted off into a fitful slumber.


	25. A Decision Is Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After discovering that his ruby quartz lenses can hold back the destructive power in his eyes, Scott comes to a decision with the help of his guardian.

Scott had stared at the ceiling for a while and tossed and turned trying to get back to sleep, but it just wasn't happening. With a frustrated sound, he threw back the covers and headed for the kitchen. He didn't know that Logan was still up, but he was almost relieved when he saw him.

"You alright, kid?" Logan asked as Scott came over and sat down at the table with him, though it was clear that everything about him was off - from the way Scott was fidgeting, to his posture, and that wasn't even considering the scent being so far off from normal ….

Scott let out a breath. "Back … last fall," Scott said, frowning deeply - not just because of the subject, but the simple fact that whatever he'd had plotted out to say had simply escaped him. "When I … blasted you, what did it look like?"

Logan tipped his head to the side and narrowed his eyes as he watched Scott's guilty movements. "You havin' headaches again?" Logan asked.

"Yes, but … not anymore. I'm just … can you tell me please?"

"Red," Logan replied. "All I saw was red before I hit the tree. Why?"

Scott shook his head, but finally spoke through gritted teeth. "The glasses stop … whatever it is from happening," Scott said. "When it happens," he gestured to his face. "They glow."

Logan moved to lean forward, never taking his eyes off of Scott. "Okay. Can you make it happen? Or stop it when it does?"

"I don't know," he replied before he launched into a very fast paced explanation of what had happened before he'd gone to bed, ending in a very anxious and frustrated kid that clearly had no idea what to do with himself.

Logan took a while to respond. He knew the kid was freaked out - by himself - but he also knew that Stark's crappy location prohibited them from going outside and just … diving into it right then and there. Finally, after what had to have felt like a lifetime to Scott, Logan let out a long, slow breath. "Alright. Get some rest. Or try to. First thing tomorrow, we'll go find somewhere we can look into this. Deep in the woods - or a … secluded beach. Somewhere you can try it out without the cops getting called."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked with a frown. "Isn't that… I mean… we _just_ moved and if anyone sees me, or sees my eyes when they do …Whatever…"

"That's why we'll find somewhere private. Otherwise, I'd tell you to let loose on Stark's ridiculous house."

Scott very nearly smirked. "Yeah but I don't think I know how to turn it _on_ unless it sneaks up on me in a headache."

"Well… how about you try it, or if you're nervous, we'll let it go until you start getting headaches again." He shrugged one shoulder up. "Either way, you're gonna need to try it sooner or later."

"Yeah, I know," Scott said with a sigh. "I need to get it … well, I need to be able to stop it or school is just…" He shook his head.

"One step at a time, right?"

"Then if it's alright, I think I'd like to start sooner than later. To get a handle on it before it gets worse."

"You got it," Logan replied with a nod. "Can it wait 'til daylight?" He was smirking just slightly, fully aware that Scott had no intentions of going out with something that would _glow_ that brightly.

The corners of Scott 's mouth twitched. "Unless there's a festival or fireworks show I don't know about," he said.

"Beats the hell outta me, I'm new around here too," Logan shot back before he got to his feet and ruffled up Scott's hair as he passed. "Get some rest. You'll feel better tomorrow."

* * *

The ocean was roaring behind them as Logan and Scott hiked into the woods. The salty air had a way of making the forest feel somehow even more cool than it was, and the mixture of sea spray and wet forest moss and dirt was almost like a palate cleanser for Logan after the long miles of highway between there and New York.

The further they hiked, the better Logan felt, and the more both of them relaxed until finally, many miles into the woods, Logan paused and closed his eyes as he listened intently.

Scott leaned against a tree as he watched him. Though they'd gone through the woods together plenty of times before - it was never like this - and never had Scott really watched Logan when he did anything like this. It was pretty cool to watch, if he was being honest.

Logan drew in a few deep, long breaths, and finally opened his eyes, still listening hard as he slowly scanned the forest around them. "Alright," he said finally. "Nearest people I can scent are at least ten miles upwind. No one's followed us, and the last living thing that's been through this way was a blacktailed deer about an hour ago." He turned Scotts way. "Pretty sure this is about as good as we're gonna get for a while." He gestured to the woods around him. "I don't know how to coach you through this, but - no one is gonna sneak up on you here."

Scott nodded quietly at that, though he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do to get his whatever it was to work, and hearing that Logan didn't know what to do either didn't exactly help his nerve level.

All he knew was that his powers came with the headaches. And the headaches seemed to come like other headaches - with noise, with stress, that kind of thing. Except when they came out of nowhere.

He tried to figure out how to force one of those then. He rubbed his forehead and took his glasses off and thought about everything that would surely help to stress him into a headache - the fact that he couldn't risk going to school with glowing eyes. The State Home for Foundlings. The people on his and Logan's tail. The fact that they were after him to get to the first good thing that had happened to him since the crash.

He rubbed at his eyes and held his breath and tried _everything_ from staring into the cool air until his eyes hurt, and he felt like he was at least succeeding in giving himself a headache.

The rest of it, not so much.

While Scott worked out how to get his ability to work, Logan found a spot to just keep out of his way and listen for any sign of trouble. He doubted that there was much of anything that he could do to help the kid. It wasn't like he had clue one on how to deal with abilities that you had to think about using. It wasn't a position he like to be in either - one that offered nothing but just watching the door more or less.

But after a while, while Logan was listening hard, that same sound echoed the woods - though not nearly as crisp or loud as the first time Logan had encountered it. For a moment he wondered if Scott had wandered off to a more private spot, but after a few moments of listening hard, he could hear that he was right where he'd left him. Still, he wasn't about to interrupt if he was making _any_ progress. But when it didn't sound like Scott was doing anything but berating himself and pacing, Logan figured it was probably time to go check on things.

"How's it going?" Logan asked as he returned to the clearing. "Any luck?"

"Not exactly," Scott replied with a frown. "I mean - kind of. But it wasn't really like before? I mean … a little. But … I don't know."

Logan tipped his head to the side in almost a nod. "We can come back - or even find another spot next time you think you can do it. Not like we're on a schedule or anything."

He clapped his hand on Scott's shoulder as the two of them headed back out down the same trail they'd used to go in. Logan wasn't entirely surprised. If he needed stress to trigger them, the long, relaxing hikes were not going to contribute to the kid getting a hold on this thing. He just didn't know of a safe place for them to fiddle with it.

"How are you with thunderstorms?" Logan asked suddenly as they moved up a trail. When Scott didn't answer right away more than to let out a little huff, Logan had to smirk. "Hey. this isn't a picking session. Truth be told I'm not the biggest fan. Walking lightning rod and all," Logan pointed out. "I was just thinking … if we found a good spot along the beach, you might be able to give it a shot during a thunderstorm."

"Maybe," Scott said at last with a small nod.

"You can take out your frustrations on a whale," Logan teased. "Or a particularly uppity wave."

"I'd take a poorly built sand castle at this point. Start small."

"I can help with that," Logan agreed. "Don't think I've ever built one so it'd have to be crap."

"I used to build them with my brother. He loved the ocean," Scott said.

"So he liked the ocean and you like the air," Logan said with a nod.

"Yeah, I like to be able to see where I am and where I'm going," Scott said with a smirk.

"You wanna lead the way out then?" Logan asked, gesturing for him to take over if he wanted.

Scott raised both eyebrows but then nodded, the smirk still tugging at him. "Yeah, alright."

"If you get too far off track I'll let you know," Logan promised, relaxing just a bit as the boy seemed more at ease when he took over piloting their way out of the woods.

As it turned out, he only needed to be redirected a couple of times where the trail was all but absent. When the two of them emerged - not too terribly far off course from the trail head they'd gone in on, Scott couldn't stop smiling to himself. Understated, sure, but smiling all the same.

"Maybe we just need to hike a little more," Logan said.

"I don't want to totally avoid it," Scott clarified. "I _need_ to figure it out."

"I know," Logan replied. "I just thought if you weren't so stressed about it, it might come more natural. The learning how to use it thing."

Scott smirked to himself but didn't say anything as the two of them got back to the house. He wasn't settled in much at all though before Logan was ready to leave again.

"Gotta go see about that job," he said. "Don't wait up. I'll be back real late."

"Alright," Scott said, looking around the house with a little frown. This would be the first time he'd been alone after all the mess that had happened in the cabin - and even in New York. It wasn't that he was scared … he was just understandably nervous about what might come to pass if he was all alone.

He wasn't a great fighter yet, and he had no one but Logan out here on the west coast. He didn't even know anyone in town. As the door closed behind Logan, Scott drew in a deep breath. This was no different than any other time Logan had left. If these Department people were going to come after him, he was sure they'd go to Logan - not Scott.

He headed over to work on the file some more, but two pages in they were talking about control mechanisms that were implanted along his spine and … that was more than Scott wanted to get into on his own in the overly large, dark house. "I'm sure Tony has sports channels," Scott muttered to himself as he headed over to the living room to watch a little TV, but as was now his habit as much as it was Logan's - he found himself seeking out the news instead.

* * *

Logan meanwhile had quickly made his way down to the bar and settled in where the owner had pointed him, doing the simple task of watching out for trouble - and minors - and dealing with them accordingly.

It wasn't awful, but it was rowdy by the time midnight rolled around, and he saw where the trouble was as the roughnecks started making themselves comfortable - and harassing half of the clientele. It wasn't too long before one of them was sure to bump into Logan, spilling their beer on him as they did so.

"You're gonna need to take it easy before you get tossed," Logan told the guy, but that just got a laugh out of the tall, broad roughneck. Which led to the guy putting his hands on Logan to shove him backward - and that was when the fight started, and very promptly ended.

In a few quick, hard hits, the man was on the floor, and shortly after that, his best friend too. Logan turned to the advancing pair from their group and stuck a finger at them. "You want to end up on the ground too? Fine by me. But you'd be smart to take your stupid friends and get them the hell outta here before you do more than bleed a little on the floor," Logan pointed out, and just like that, a hush fell over the bar and the remaining members of the two men's group dragged their friends out.

The rest of the night was pretty calm, and by the time they closed up, the owner was tickled, offering him the job on a more permanent basis on the spot.

"Let me know if you need anything," the owner told him with a pleased smirk.

"To be honest, lookin' for a place for me and my boy to stay," Logan admitted sa he folded over the cash he'd made from the night. "Not real familiar with the area yet."

The man nodded his head and scribbled down an address. "My brother has a handful of cabins out in the woods if you like it quiet. Rent's reasonable, and last I checked there was just one other tenant, and that one minds their own."

Logan looked at the address and nodded. "When's a good time to get 'im?"

"Go now - set it up, tell 'im I sent ya."


	26. Northwest Normal

It was a few hours past dawn Logan walked back into Starks' seaside palace with a smirk. He shook his head as he listened to Scott rushing to get himself upright— having fallen asleep on the couch with the tv on. "Got a place lined up," he called out to Scott. "And the job's gonna stick."

"Great," Scott called back, his voice thick with sleep still. "Then I can start working on my … stuff."

Logan smiled to himself and shook his head as Scott tried to wake up in earnest. It would take very little time for the two of them to get their things together and get out of there. But considering how much neither of them liked the seaside palace, any time it took would be a bit too much for them.

While Scott was going over his room, stashing what little he had unpacked, Logan headed for Stark's bookshelf. There were many things that the man did that irritated the crap out of him, but one thing that he apparently could rely on Tony for was the simple fact that on the bookshelf there would be information about the area they were in. It had proven true at the mansion in New York anyhow. There, Logan had found volumes of information on all aspects of the city. It's history, books full of maps of geography before the city was built, the old subway lines through the ages, parcel information that broke down who owned what around the mansion, the tower, and all through the city …

He paused as he found a book on the shelf at eye level that was very obviously exactly what he was looking for, and as he took it, he paused, realizing that perhaps it wasn't  _Stark_ that had the collection of books, but his amazingly organized butler. He shrugged the thought off. That wasn't the important part anyhow. What was important was that he had a book of maps of the entire Oregon coastal area complete with elevations and details on population. At least from within the past three years since the book had been made.

And he did note that it was  _made_ — not published. This was not a commercially created tome, no way. This was one that was updated. He took the book with him and stuck it into his travelling bag then met Scott at the front door. It was clear that the young man was in just as much of a hurry to get things rolling as Logan was.

Scott loaded up his things as Logan locked up, and within a few minutes, the two of them were headed down the road again. It had been raining that morning, so again, the roads were wet and the whole area smelled amazing with the pine and the ocean breeze.

The two track that led into where the rental cabins dotted in the forest was lined with tall pines, and Scott found himself smirking when he heard Logan let out a little breath and mutter "That's more like it, eh?"

"Yeah. Much better," Scott replied around his smirk, though he had to relax a little himself too. This was more secluded and hidden. Being this deep in the trees on its own made the whole place seem more secure. The first cabin at the end of the two track was quite clearly that of the owner. The man that lived there was proud ex-military, and three flags flew in front of his cabin. The stars and stripes, USMC flag, and a black and white POW flag. Those guys— the ex-marines in the woods— were always aware of what was going on around them and suspicious of anyone invading their turf. It was practically like paying to have someone on your six. And even Scott knew it. "Ex Marine corp?"

"Seemed like a nice enough guy," Logan replied with a shrug. "Healthy level of paranoia. Protective of his current  _tenant_."

"Just one other?" Scott asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at the many cabins dotting the woods.

"Just one. Said everyone that stays here keeps to themselves, and we're expected to do the same. Sounded like my kind of neighbors."

Scott hid the smirk by looking out of his window as they went all the way to the end of the two track road. The little A-Frame cabin was bigger than the place they'd had in Wisconsin, but still somehow felt cozier inside, covered in wood and with the large open, windows and floor plan. "I like it," Scott said as he looked up and around himself.

"Well, it's different, that's for sure," Logan said as he breezed past him and up the stairs. "Should be warm enough with the fire going."

"Wasn't really what I was thinking about but … yeah. I bet it will." Scott set his bag down and turned to look out the front windows, frowning when he saw that the way the road had curved, they couldn't see if their nearest neighbor was home unless they used the deck on the backside of their cabin. Considering all the trouble they'd been having with moves, he wasn't exactly at ease not knowing who was across the way.

But almost on cue, Logan interrupted his paranoid train of mind by pointing him to his new room. With one last look out the front window toward their neighbor's cottage, Scott turned and headed up the stairs to his room to start settling in. Even though it was still fairly early in the day, it felt good to lay back on his bed and relax, outside of the opulent surroundings that Stark seemed to require. This … with all the wood and nature … was much more his speed.

A few hours, and a quick bite later, Scott once again found himself alone in a strange place as Logan headed off to get to work. He wasn't gone more than an hour or two when Scott heard the crunch of gravel under tires, and he looked over to see their neighbor pull in. A white pickup truck … though he missed seeing the driver as the cottage blocked the truck all the way to the front of the bed.

He sat down on the couch and just thought about it for a moment, curious on who this person was, but outside of a few lights turning on inside that drew his attention to the window while he was reading, he never saw so much as a silhouette, and he very quickly found himself not even looking out the window when something would change.

Scott was eating an apple, engrossed in some of the background he'd been finding with the lenses working in his favor. Logan's military record was kind of amazing. And hard to believe too, considering that they had entries from both world wars. There wasn't a lot there— but there was a very short mention of what units he'd served in. When Scott started to dig through the rest of the file, he made a note that went down the dates he could find for his  _other_ time served in various branches … it looked like a pretty good timeline. He smirked to himself and leaned back, finally able to take a breath to relax. He knew if he dug deep enough and stuck to it he'd start to make sense of the shambles that the file was, even if there wasn't a lot there that gave any useable details.

He stood up, stretched, and quickly realized that it was a lot later than he'd thought it was. Logan's new work schedule would have him out for another hour or two, but for as late as it was … it just meant that Scott himself should have crashed hours ago.

He marked his place, gathered up his notes and the files and headed to his room, passing out nearly as soon as he'd gotten comfortable on the feather topped bed.

The next morning, Scott quickly found that he was the only one awake in the cabin. His guardian was passed out well past his usual morning wake up, which he really wasn't surprised over in the least. He had fully expected him to be sleeping seeing as he didn't get out of the job at the bar until three, so a five AM wake up call was pretty much out of the question.

As Logan slept, Scott made his way to the kitchen and fixed himself a bite to eat. He'd just sat down at the kitchen table when he heard their neighbor's truck start up, but by the time he'd moved to where he could see out of the window— the truck was already headed out. He let out a little sigh of relief. Whoever this person was, it was unlikely that they'd cross paths.

But Scott was already tired of just sitting around and reading what he could find. Like it or not, it was well past time for him to get back on the horse, so to speak, and get enrolled in school. If he kept  _calm._ And made sure to keep up on meditation and took hikes every chance he got— not only to relax, but to find those hidden spots and try to use … whatever it was- he was pretty sure he'd be able to keep it under control. He hoped.  _NO_. He was sure.

He just needed to keep on top of things, and … if a headache came up, he was sure Logan wouldn't push him to go until it was over. If he pushed him at all. The guy really didn't seem too concerned with school.

While Logan was still asleep, he looked around the cabin until he found a phone book— it was a little out of date, but it would at least give him something to start with.

"Whatcha lookin' up?" Logan rumbled as he made his appearance at the foot of the stairs. He didn't wait for an answer before he made his way to the coffee pot and got himself a cup.

"I've been thinking about enrolling in school again," Scott admitted. "I think … if I keep up on the meditation and the acupressure you showed me … I should be fine. And when I feel a headache building, I'll just have to … say something. I guess."

Logan, still tired from the trip, and from fighting at the bar simply watched him over the top of his mug as he leaned against the counter.

"I'm not giving up on learning how to handle it, I … just don't want to wait for it to happen first. I could be waiting a while at the rate I'm going," Scott continued when Logan kept his silence.

"Alright. We can head in and deal with it on Monday," Logan agreed.

* * *

Logan should have guessed that Scott wasn't going to just try to go to school. This was a whole new side of the continent, after all and the rules here were a little different than what they were in the Wisconsin woods.

It was a slightly bigger town, and there were actually a healthy number of shops in town that looked like places that Scott might be able to get a job - and he was looking even on the way to the school. "Can we stop a few places on the way back?" Scott asked.

"If you need to, sure," Logan replied, though he really wasn't optimistic about what kind of luck he was going to have. As it turned out, Logan finding the job that he did was a stroke of sheer luck. And considering the boy's desire to contribute … well. It was going to be interesting if Scott couldn't find work. He was nearly finished with combing through Logan's file, and once he was finished with that, he'd have nothing to distract himself with.

Logan parked in the business district and just sat back in the jeep while Scott picked up applications at a handful of places. The movie theatre, the bookshop, coffee shop, ice cream parlor … and a couple of shops on the strip that he thought might have a use for a kid his age. To his surprise, Scott found that not one of those folks in the shops seemed to think his eyewear was something that required staring as most had done initially in Wisconsin. Maybe it was because he wasn't quite as self conscious about it as he'd been when he first got them, since it really was the norm for him now.

Scott got settled into his classes in no time, though he kept his head down and tried to fly under the radar as much as possible. He was reasonably sure that no one was going to hire him by the time he finally got an interview at the movie theatre.

He found out quickly that open jobs in the small town were at a premium, and the fact that he hadn't yet gotten his driver's license or a vehicle was going to hinder him a lot more than it would have in other areas. Particularly when they lived as far from town as they did. Of course, he hadn't thought much about that. The transportation angle. That would take a bit of to overcome. But … like everything else, Scott was sure that he'd find a way to do it, even if the movie theatre was a no-go. One of the others would have better options for after school, he was sure. He hoped anyhow.

Nearly two weeks went by, and no word came from any of the places he'd applied. He'd started to look at where else he could apply when his new lab partner, Farrah, asked him to meet up with her to study. "I .. am not the best with this section." She was very matter of fact about asking, even as she continued to nod long after she was done asking him. "So. Friday? Then maybe I can have the whole weekend to you know, get up to snuff before Monday's test?" She paused and then held up both hands in front of herself, her eyes wide suddenly. "Unless you know. You have a date or something. I don't want to make you think you  _need_ to help me. I'm sure the quarterback's tutoring group can handle one more."

Scott smirked at her little jab. It was well known in the school that the quarterback's little group of football players was the main reason more smart kids didn't volunteer to tutor. More than one tutor had quit in tears by how astonishingly unmotivated the team was to do anything to get beyond not-failing. "Friday would be fine. I might need a ride home though if we go past six."

"My sister can give you a ride if you need it," Farrah said. "But hopefully it won't go that long. I know you have things to do. Everyone does." She shrugged to herself, her long, curly brown hair falling six ways at once before she turned on her heel. "We can go down to the coffee shop in town. They make sure that it doesn't get too loud and stupid in there."

He nodded, though the smirk turned into a smile when she grinned after he agreed and tried valiantly not to trip on her often untied shoelaces on her way down the hall.

The whole vibe at this place was totally different than anything Scott was used to being around. Aside from a few very high strung types, most of the kids seemed to get along just fine. And Farrah had already brought him into her little past time of making snarky comments in lab about the ongoing adventures of their fellow classmates. All of it was pure fiction, but she seemed to remember all of her little inner stories, picking up on them from one day to the next as if she was reading them out of a book. The girl was hilarious.


	27. Is It A Date?

Seeing as his study session was a Friday night meet up, Scott was sure to talk to Logan and let him know that there was a good chance that he might need a ride before Logan took off for work. He should have expected the line of questioning to go the way it did.

"Is she cute?" Logan asked without a hint of teasing as the two of them headed toward their cabin.

"What?" Scott blurted out, somehow not having prepared himself.

"Is she cute? This Farrah girl. Pretty simple question. Yes or no."

Scott stared at him for a moment, until Logan finally turned his way with a perfectly straight face. "What's she look like?" Logan asked.

"Ah … she's … got curly brown hair. And blue eyes."

"Doesn't sound much like a ringing endorsement either way."

"No - that's … I just …" Scott sighed heavily and then tried to start again as Logan began to smirk. "She's  _fine_ , but it doesn't matter. She's my lab partner."

"Right. Strict anti-fraternization rules in the high school lab, I'm sure."

Scott turned his way with an dry, flat expression on his face. "You're not funny."

"Still didn't answer my question, but yeah. I can pick you up … when? I'm free up until around seven."

"Six would be fine, thanks," Scott replied, pointedly looking anywhere but at his guardian. He should have known Logan would go this route with him.

Scott got into his homework as soon as they got home, and by the time the two of them sat down to dinner, he had thought the matter had been settled. He really,  _really_ should have known that wasn't going to be the case.

"She's not anything like the last one, is she?" Logan asked out of the clear blue, not even bothering to be nonchalant about it as he frowned over at Scott.

Scott stopped cold and just stared at him for a few moments before he shook his head lightly. "No. And it doesn't matter. Because she's my  _lab partner._ "

"Right, right. You said that," Logan replied, nodding lightly. "Doesn't mean you can't  _look._ "

"She's  _nothing_ like Grace," Scott said finally. "She dresses in baggy clothes and her hair is wild. She doesn't wear makeup and she has an imagination..."

And just like that, Logan simply dropped it. "Good. Sounds like you have a competent lab partner."

Scott watched him for a moment, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But when it didn't, and Logan went back to his own business … reading something he'd picked up that looked old, Scott finally cautiously went back to his dinner.

* * *

Work was going about as well as it could for Logan. The bar was happy with the work he was doing, and word had gotten out quickly that he wasn't going to put up with any crap at the bar, and although the number of fights rose for a short time as the men decided to test him out, they dropped to next to nothing after that.

Of course, along with the drop in fights and incidents, the number of people  _going_ to the bar began to steadily rise. It seemed that as long as the roughnecks were kept in line, the rest of the residents of their sleepy little town were more than happy to get back out to the roadside bar for darts, drinks, and just to unwind in general.

All that really meant for Logan was that he had more people to keep an eye on, and more subversive attempts at violence or trouble to watch for as some of the more unsavory among them weren't beyond trying to pull something once the women returned to the bar.

On realizing how common it was becoming for some of the more sleazy guys to slip something into several women's drinks, and making sure that nothing came of it— Logan decided to look into where the hell it was coming from.

He knew which guys were spiking drinks. So it should be a pretty simple bit of detective work to chase down where the hell they were getting it from. Of course, that was provided that he didn't work the night he wanted to follow them since he knew that he was at the bar before work let out for the roughnecks.

By the time Logan got home, it was just a couple hours before Scott was up and getting ready for school. It was odd hours, the way that it was working out, but neither of them seemed to mind too much.

Logan had the coffee made by the time Scott got up, and as a means of ending his day, and helping Scott start his, the two of them met up in the living room and went through their deep breathing and had a short lesson in martial arts. It got Scott awake and ready to focus, and it relaxed Logan after a long night of watching for trouble.

But it didn't escape Logan's notice that it was Friday. Which meant … Scott had a  _study date._  He let it go. Even though Scott kept glancing his way in an almost nervous manner. The school was in sight before Logan finally let out a deep sigh. "Don't worry. I'll see you at six. Ish. Might be a little later. Just in case your date goes well."

"Study. Session."

"Study  _date_ — with date being the operative word." Logan gave him a look.

"No," Scott said, as patiently as he was able. "Study is the operative word."

"Remains to be seen," Logan replied as they came to a stop near the school. "If she's all dressed up, I won't even give you an 'I told you so.' Go get 'er."

Scott slammed the door shut but was sure to almost glare at Logan— who was obviously smirking at him. "You're still not funny."

"If you say so, Slim," Logan replied before he simply drove off leaving Scott shaking his head in frustration.  _Why_ did he have to be like this?

Scott's shoulders were slumped as he made his way to first period. No matter what he said, he was sure Logan was going to treat whatever happened at this study session as a date, and God Forbid if the man ever met Farrah. He'd probably pick on him until he turned eighteen over it. "Or, until we move again," Scott corrected under his breath.

So he was supremely relieved to find once he got to class that Logan was most definitely wrong. Farrah was dressed just like she was any other day. Warm hoodie, baggy jeans, one untied sneaker …but when he caught her eye, she simply grinned his way, leaving Scott wondering what kind of message that was. And he had an entire day to get through wondering to himself if Logan was right or not.

It was distracting.  _So_ distracting just wondering all day long if she liked him, and if she did, what the heck he was supposed to do about it. He didn't know if he even thought she was cute. He knew she was  _nice_ , but …

He let out a little noise that bordered on frustration. Of  _course_ Logan would point something out like that … it was probably just to pick on him and make him overthink  _everything._ No. No, he wasn't going to do it. He wasn't going to let anyone get to him. He was bound and determined to just go to the study session and see if this girl needed his help, or if she was just looking for an excuse, like Grace always did.

Though, Scott had to admit. Grace  _could_ have used the tutoring help if she'd have cared one iota about her grades.

* * *

Of course, while Scott was tormenting himself wondering what the status was with the pretty curly haired girl in biology class, Logan was hunting down the creeps from the bar that had been drugging women's drinks. He wasn't going to do much … just cut their supply line off, wherever that was, but after a day of digging, he had come up empty handed.

It wasn't a stretch to find the guys from where they worked, and their names were already known well enough. Considering the problems Logan had himself with the authorities, he had made it a point not to push calling the cops on anyone if he could find any way to avoid it. Thankfully, he didn't need the cops to find out the guys were creeps, or to learn their names. The owner in particular had it out for them, but couldn't quite bring himself to ban them since apparently, the last time that had happened, there was a mysterious fire that started up in the kitchen.

The word around town and with most of the public records showed that one of the guys, Erik Harris, was a habitual offender. Plenty of public drunkenness charges, domestic violence - the works. And while Logan was more than happy to let nature take it's course when guys like this minded their own business, it was clear that this Harris creep was trying to fatten his record with something charmingly awful that Logan  _would_ end him for. Something like serial rapist. That … was not something that he was about to stand idly by and allow to continue.

Which was how Logan found his way to Harris's house while he was at work. The place was a sty - and easy enough to break into. The cocky bastard had the door unlocked with a giant rottweiler inside, but dogs never had been stupid enough to cross Logan after he'd growled their way right back. And this rott was no different.

One low growl from Logan and the dog dropped his head and rolled over onto his back, whimpering and hiding his face. Within a few minutes the big black dog was following him around like a puppy and nudging his head under Logan's hand.

He took a moment to pat the dog, and even stroked his ears a little bit, which seemed to send the dog into a whole different kind of admiration for Logan.

But outside of a somewhat neglected watchdog, he only found traces of where the guy had been keeping his roofies. Obviously he wasn't a dealer, not that it made Logan feel any better about the whole mess. He found the guy's notepad by the phone with a few numbers and made a point to write them down himself before he gave the dog a piece of meat out of the fridge and checked the clock.

It was getting late, and he knew he was running out of time. Logan let out a sigh and let himself out of the trailer set back in the woods. He had a few hours before he had to go get Scott, but he couldn't help but wonder if the kid was doing well with his date or not.

He decided, ultimately that his efforts were best spent elsewhere … at least until he had to head back into town to grab Scott. Harris wasn't the only one that he had to look into, after all and the guys that he was digging info on were all down at the bar. No time like the present.

* * *

Scott was relaxed about the study session when they got out of school, and the two of them joked around all the way to the coffee shop, but once he got there, he found himself openly frowning when he saw that their 'help wanted' sign was still in the window. It was notable because it wasn't the usual orange and black that the other shops had. Theirs was handwritten and kind of funky looking.

When they got into the shop, the two teenagers went right to the counter and made their orders with the pretty little brunette barista that looked like she knew a secret. Farrah got some very complex frozen drink saying "Winter is the best time for frozen drinks. You can set them down and they don't melt and get ruined."

He had to agree with her philosophy even if the practice made him cold just watching her with the frozen whipped cream topped coffee concoction.

Scott, however, had no experience with the fancy items on the menu and found himself ordering a hot chocolate.

"Sure you don't want a mocha?" the barista asked. "I'm not trying to sell you up, but if you're studying …"

Scott felt himself pause as he watched the woman waiting for him to answer. "I .. haven't ever had one, to be honest."

She raised an eyebrow his way and tipped her head to the side slightly. "Alright. Tell you what. Just because that is a sin, I'm going to ignore that you said that."

"Try it, you'll like it," Farrah said. "It's like … hot chocolate mixed with coffee."

Scott looked up at the barista, who nodded. "I'll even put a shot of caramel in it to keep it from being too bitter for a new guy," she promised.

He looked caught as he glanced between the two of them and finally nodded. "Okay, sure."

The barista gave him a broad grin. "If you hate it, just say so and I'll give you a hot chocolate, alright?"

With the two of them smiling his way, he couldn't really help but do the same. "Thanks," he managed before Farrah led them over to a table that was both quiet and out of the way. "Is this your regular study spot?" he asked her as the girl behind the counter got to work on all sorts of complex looking machines to make their drinks.

"Oh, for sure. No one really comes here from the school, and when they do, the baristas won't let them be obnoxious. Aside from the espresso machine? It's quieter than the library."

Scott sat back and paid attention to his surroundings for a minute. She wasn't wrong. The music was classical and played low. The lighting was good. It was a corner shop, though the roads really weren't very busy. And if you sat in the right spot, you could see down the roads for quite a ways.

Farrah had just gotten her textbook and notebook out when the barista showed up with their drinks. Scott stared at the beverage in question for a moment, and was grateful that the woman that had put it in front of him had left rather than stuck around to see if he liked it.

Farrah was halfway organized by the time that Scott managed to take a sip, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was exactly as Farrah and the woman had described. Hot chocolate and an overtone of coffee.

They were into their drinks for a solid five minutes before the woman behind the counter simply called out to him. "How do you like your mocha?"

He smiled as he turned her way. "It's great. Thanks."

"See? Just needed a little guidance on your coffee drinking experiences," she said before she spun on her heel and got back to her work.

"Eyes in your head, mister," Farrah said, tapping her pencil on his notebook. "Cute barista and all, we still have work to do."

But that only got a wider smile out of him, since she'd proven Logan wrong.

And from there it became a real study session. One that was evidenced by the fact that the section she was having an issue with - and the questions she had in certain areas - were good enough and smart enough questions that they had Scott doing a double take on what the answer was.

"It might be beyond what we'll be tested on? But if I have to know this crap, I want to  _know it,_ " Farrah explained as Scott dug through the text to find the answer.

"No, you're right," he said distractedly, reading carefully to see if he'd missed something in the first two pass throughs. "And they're good questions. I just … can't find it."

"So we either try to find it at the library next time or we cross our fingers and hope that we don't get tested on this," Farrah said with a sigh as she sat back looking entirely put out. "We're out of time too. I need to be out of here by six or my dad won't let me go out for track."

Scott smirked a little bit at that. "Strict parents?"

"Little bit," she agreed, eyebrows high on her head. "So. Same time Monday, or …"

"Sounds good to me. I wouldn't mind a little help with my Algebra," Scott replied, which just got a look from Farrah.

"Is this your sneaky way of getting a tutor without going to the football players?"

"Please?"

"No one at home good for Algebra?" she asked, frowning.

"I … haven't asked, to be honest, but I really don't think so."

She shook her head, her lips pursed just the slightest as she tutted. "Sounds to me like you're just looking for a reason to hang out." Before he could reply though, she caught his gaze and smiled. "Lucky for you I'm all for trading tutoring help." With that, she was out the door - one shoelace undone  _again._

Scott watched her go, and as she stepped out to the sidewalk from the alcove the shop had, her hair caught in the wind and curls went flying behind her. He quickly gathered up his books—it really was handy that he could see so far down the street— as he saw Logan's jeep approaching. He called out a quick 'thanks!' to the woman behind the counter and left as heavy a tip as his dwindling budget would allow before zipping out and clambering into the jeep.

"So?" Logan asked as the two of them pulled out into the street.

"So … it was a study session, and she stumped me for a solid fifteen minutes on one question." He smiled to himself, trying and failing to restrain it. "Which means you were wrong. She's not interested."

Logan turned his way and looked him up and down, an unreadable expression on his face before he frowned slightly. "So you're not meeting up with her again?"

"I am— but …"

"But nothing. The girl likes you. What's wrong with that?"

Scott shook his head at him, but the smile wasn't ready to disappear yet. "Not every girl that comes along is going to like me. She genuinely was working on studying."

Logan frowned and took a sniff, visibly so that Scott could see he was doing it. "You been drinkin' coffee? Since when?"

At that though, Scott blushed the slightest. "They talked me into it."

"They who?"

"Farrah and the barista."

There was silence in the jeep for a moment before Logan just started to chuckle, followed quickly by Scott trying to find out why, which only had Logan laughing harder. Especially when Scott refused to answer what the barista looked like.

"You're a sucker for a pretty face, Slim," Logan laughed, but when Scott looked more irritated, Logan shifted his tone. "Nothing wrong with that. Just ... be careful what they talk you into."

Scott glared at the side of Logan's head for all of about two seconds before he crossed his arms and let out a sigh. There was no sense fighting with him on something like this. Much better to bide his time and wait. Sooner or later, he'd have ammo to throw back at him.

* * *

The weekend was a bust for Logan to continue his digging, and he knew it would be. In a lot of ways, it was getting tiring. He'd stop the drinks from reaching the women if he was in the right place, but outside of that, he had to insist with the owner that a new rule be enforced - or at least, he informed the owner that a new rule was being enforced. No one was taking a woman that was out of her senses out of the building. There would be exceptions to the rule of course.

The ladies that came in together and got hammered … they could leave together, but more often than not, Logan called a cab for them anyhow. Everyone else had to pass by his watchful eye, and unknown to them, sharp nose.

It didn't matter who was trying to walk them out. If they'd been drugged, he knew, and he wasn't about to let anyone take advantage. As a result, all the women that headed into that bar were perfectly safe as long as Logan was on the clock. Of course, he knew it was just a matter of time before the creeps moved on to a different bar with more unsuspecting victims. And that was what had him on edge all weekend.

He knew who some of the perpetrators were. But he was sure he didn't know for sure who all of them were. With five or six women getting dosed in the one bar every night, it couldn't possibly have been only the three guys he had on his list.

So he watched them out of the corner of his eye. He paid attention to who they were being friendly with, and he made note of who it was that he needed to chase down.

By closing time, the troublemakers were long gone. And instead of going home and going to bed himself, he decided instead to go looking … see if the creeps had gone home or if they were stupid enough to try and go to a different bar. Without gathering the evidence, or digging any deeper, he was ready to slice at least one of them where they'd regret it if he caught one whiff of the roofies on them.

It was nearly dawn when he finally got home. And then he hadn't gotten quite to bed when the neighbor headed out, which was what woke Scott up.

"Are you just now coming in?" Scott called out from his room across the way.

"Yeah. Late night," Logan replied. "Go back to sleep. It's Sunday. Take a break."

Scott smirked to himself before he rolled over and did just that. There was no way he was going to tell Logan that Farrah had called him up last night and talked to him for an hour past his usual turn in time. Even if it was entirely about the History assignment, Logan would never let him hear the end of it. Ever.


	28. Different Lives

Scott knew that something had Logan's attention when the two of them were doing their morning training first thing Monday. If nothing else, because there were several points in the lesson where Scott had to let Logan know that he hadn't actually told him how to do what he was asking. And that never happened.

"Have they found us already?" Scott asked suddenly, and the question on it's own was enough to get Logan to stop what he was doing and pull him out of his train of thought.

"What?" Logan replied, looking up at him quickly, clearly not on the same page at all. "No." Logan shook his head and took a deep breath to center himself. "I'm just working on a little problem at the bar. Nothing to do with them." But the kid had a point. He was allowing himself to get distracted from watching their backs. "I'm keeping my eyes open, something happens, you'll be the first to know."

"Yeah, that's not real reassuring," Scott replied, moving right into stretches again, seeing as the lesson was so obviously over.

Logan turned his way and nodded. "Keep the comm for Cap on you just in case. I haven't seen any sign of 'em yet, but you should have it anyhow."

Scott tipped his head Logan's way and raised one eyebrow over the top of his ruby quartz glasses. "Last time you said something like that, we were hit within hours."

Logan responded with a dry look as he held the boy's gaze. "If you gotta know, I've been digging into some creeps."

"Department creeps?" Scott said, straightening up again. "Because I thought I got everything I could out of that file … if there's more—"

"No, nothing like that," Logan said, holding up one hand and shaking his head. "Not that kind of creep. This is the more normal kind. Though I'm  _sure_ there's more to it than what's in that file, and if I get the chance, I'm gonna get the rest of it, redacted bits and all."

Scott frowned at him, then took a seat, clearly waiting for Logan to continue, which happened quick enough once he saw the concerned look on Scott's face. "There are a few guys that have been slipping drugs into women's drinks. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but I just …."

"They shouldn't get away with it."

"Exactly. I'm trying to find their supplier. I don't think that any of 'em that I'm looking into are dealers. Doesn't look like it anyhow."

"And you can tell … because of your nose, right?"

Logan nodded and crossed his arms. "That and the fact that they're not handing them out, only usin' it for their own purposes. But I'll back off that for a while. Make sure that we don't have any departmental issues before I go after them."

"This sounds like something the cops should handle," Scott pointed out.

"That's just it. There's no way to prove what they're doing," Logan replied before he tapped the side of his nose. "I can outstrip a bloodhound in a downpour. The cops can't even find this stuff with tests when it goes across their desks." He drew in a breath. "And I don't know that they'd want to stop it."

"Why?" Scott asked, looking honestly alarmed. "Isn't that their job?"

"It is," Logan agreed, nodding as he finally took a seat nearby. "But a lot of times, if they have someone they're protecting that's doing crap they shouldn't... " he let the statement fall, and it was only a moment or two before Scott broke the silence.

"The cops are in on it?"

"No," Logan said quickly, shaking his head. "I don't think so. But one of the Deputies has a son that is." Scott looked honestly upset by that, but Logan tried to cut him off at the pass. "I'm on it, Slim. They won't get away with it."

" _You_  shouldn't  _have_ to do this. It shouldn't matter who they are or who their dad…" Scott shook his head. "Someone has to stop it. I guess … if the cops won't… we can."

Logan didn't miss the way that Scott had attempted to add himself to the mix, he just chose to ignore it for the time being. "I spent the weekend making sure that the girls that were drugged never left supervision. But that won't work for long. I know I can't babysit all of 'em. Worry about your classes. And your  _dates._ "

"We're studying," Scott said flatly.

"Yeah, I've heard it called that too," Logan shot back, heading over to get a cup of coffee.

Scott looked like he wanted to argue the point, but he really didn't have time for it if he wanted to hit the shower before school. "Still not funny," Scott called out as he rushed off to get ready for school.

* * *

After the first week of coffee shop study sessions, Scott was starting to feel like he really needed to get a job. But still, no one was even considering hiring him. And to make matters worse, even though the other places that had been looking for help had hired … the coffee shop still hadn't filled the position.

He'd watched Bridget, the barista who insisted on calling him 'Caramel Mocha', talk to several people about coming in, but for whatever reason, they never stayed on for more than a few days, and several of the people that had come in from his class that he knew to be more than a little flaky never seemed to get their application further than her. He had to wonder if the owner had even  _seen_ the application he'd put in when he'd first moved there.

So one afternoon when he knew that Farrah wasn't going to be able to go to coffee, he headed down to the coffee shop to ask Bridget point blank why he didn't get a call back.

When he stepped in the door, Bridget greeted him in what was her usual manner at this point. "Hey, Caramel Mocha. Where's your girlfriend?"

"She's not my … Farrah isn't …. She can't come today. But that's not … I wanted to ask about the job opening."

"You don't want to work here, Caramel Mocha," Bridget said as she cleaned out the espresso machine. "You only like coffee when it's 80% sugar and cream."

"Is that a requirement? Being a coffee lover?"

"It sure helps," she replied with an easy shrug. "And I don't have the patience to keep training people that are afraid of a little work."

"I like to work," Scott argued. "Really. Give me a shot and I'll stick with it as long as I'm here."

She set the stainless steel pitcher in her hand down in the sink and turned to face him with a little frown on her face. "What does that mean, exactly?" Bridget asked as she leaned on the counter across from him, her arms crossed in front of her.

He shrugged. "We move a lot." He gave her a little smile and she shook her head slowly at him before she pulled a new application out from behind the register.

"Fill it out, and wait here so you can answer any questions I have," she told him, handing her the pen that she had in her apron front.

He gave her a shocked little smile and sat down to carefully fill out the page. When he came back and slid it to her she picked up the paper with a playful little smirk, but that fell quickly.

"Well. it's not good to lie about your name right out of the gate, Caramel Mocha," she said, shaking her head, though the frown was pretty deep for just picking about his name. "You totally misspelled it."

"My name is Scott," he told her with a smirk.

"Not to me," she countered. "Where were you living before you moved here?" She set the paper down on the counter and watched him with a familiar intensity, her chin in the palm of her hand.

"New York City," Scott replied evenly as she searched his face. "But I was only there for a little while," he added quickly. "Before that it was a little town in Wisconsin, and before that, Omaha."

She continued to watch him for a few moments. "That's a lot of jumping around," she said finally.

"Like I said, we've been moving a lot."

"Hmm." She bit her bottom lip as she thought it over. "What hours can you work?"

He shrugged. "Right now, I'm restricted to just a few hours after school and during the day on Saturday and Sunday. Unless I can get a ride so my guardian doesn't have to cut out of work early himself."

Bridget frowned and glanced down at the paper again. "Guardian? I could have sworn that Bill said the new guy at his place was with his kid."

Scott frowned and tipped his head as he started to study her now. "How ... "

But she waved him off quickly. "Honey, this is what they call a 'small town'." She made air quotes and slowed her speech down when she said it. "Everyone knows everyone's business."

"Right," Scott said slowly, though now he was weighing it all out. If the little barista at the corner coffee shop could find them, well … that wasn't necessarily good.

"Tell you what," Bridget said, taking the paper back. "I'll give you a few days to try it out. See if you can handle it. If you like it, then … we'll work your hours out, okay?"

Scott very nearly did a double take. "Are you sure?"

"Owners basically handed me the keys and told me to treat it like my own," Bridget said. "I'm just exceedingly picky about who I work with."

He started to smile at that and finally nodded his head. "When do I start?"

She smiled back and shrugged lightly. "Well. Seems like you might just have a few hours, if previous experience means anything. Feel free to call your dad to let him know when you'll need a ride."

Scott was floating on a cloud, tickled that he'd  _finally_ managed to get a job, and it just so happened that the job wouldn't be taking money out of his pocket since Bridget promised him he could have two drinks on shift in addition to the cash he'd be earning.

* * *

Meanwhile, Logan was spending all his free time out hunting - and operating in a high functioning state of total paranoia. He really hadn't been that bad before, but once he realized how  _much_ he'd slipped on the basics of watching their back, he was making up for it in spades. Unfortunately for Logan, he wasn't exactly sleeping as much as he should have been and it was starting to wear on him.

Naturally, it was Scott that noticed he was looking a lot more haggard than he should. "Have you been sleeping?"

Logan's answer was a soft growl that only ended when he cleared his throat and shook his head. "Not so much," Logan admitted. "But I'm fine."

Scott frowned deeply at that and nodded to himself. "I don't have to work today, and it's your day off too. Why don't you … you know. Take a day off."

"Thought we were goin' into the woods," Logan replied.

"Well, we can let it go this week," Scott offered, reasonably. He'd been trying to lighten up the load for Logan wherever he could, especially after Bridget let slip that little bit about Logan telling the landlord he was his dad.

But Logan was already shaking his head 'no'. "Keeps you relaxed, doesn't it?"

"Well, yeah," Scott admitted. "But it's not going to help if I know you're running yourself into the dirt. I can use a day to study anyhow."

At that, Logan's head picked up and he seemed to wake up a little more. "Thought you were studyin' after school."

"I  _was_ ," Scott said. "But then I got that job down at the coffee shop, and even though Farrah comes in to study, and we kinda discuss things, I'm technically working."

Logan smirked and kept eye contact with him. "Sounds cush."

"Oh knock it off," Scott shot back. "I'm not going into the woods today. So you might as well just …  _take a break._ From all of it."

"You sure it wouldn't screw you up?"

Scott gave him one of his driest looks. "Not nearly as much as knowing you're ready to pass out from wearing yourself down at any given second."

He was sure he was in the right when Logan took a lot longer than he usually did before he pulled his wallet out - though Scott quickly held up one hand. "Let me cover the pizza this time," Scott said, unable to hide the little smirk. "Bridget's paying me in cash until she decides if she wants to keep me."

"Alright then," Logan didn't have to see the grin to know it was there as he headed up the stairs. And he knew that Scott had absolutely zero intentions of waking him up too.

* * *

It was a shock for Logan to wake up finally to the scent of coffee wafting through the house. His stomach was growling and he frowned, wondering why Scott was making coffee so late.

And then he got himself upright and frowned deeper as he looked around the room. He hadn't meant to sleep the whole night through. Not when he had things he'd meant to get done. Wearily, he got up and took a quick shower and got ready for the day before he headed downstairs to find Scott with his bowl of cereal, reading over his biology notes.

"What happened to pizza?" Logan asked as he poured himself a cup.

"You were sleeping pretty soundly," Scott replied. "But if you insist on it - there's some in the fridge."

"Not my first choice with coffee," Logan replied as he sat down, scowling at the world in general. "No lesson this morning?"

"You slept through your alarm," Scott said evenly. "I was going to wake you up if you hadn't come down by seven." he looked up at Logan with an open expression. "You must have really needed the break."

Logan grunted in response and turned back to his coffee, frowning as he thought it over.

"So, next week is spring break," Scott said after a bit of silence had stretched out. "Is it alright with you if I work through it? Bridget said I could pick up a little extra time."

"What kind of hours?"

"Morning - wouldn't be much different than taking me to school," Scott said. "I figured I can work a shift and then stay there to do my homework."

"With the girlfriend?" Logan asked as he picked his mug up and watched Scott over the lip of it.

"My  _friend_ and lab-partner," Scott corrected.

"Study buddy," Logan said with a nod.

"Right," Scott said dryly. "Her sister said she'd drop me off if it goes too late, too."

Logan thought about it for a few moments, nodded his agreement then turned to Scott with a little frown. "Do me a favor, wouldja?"

Scott looked up, his eyebrows over his ruby quartz glasses as he'd never heard Logan talk to him in this particular tone. "Sure."

"Don't let me sleep like that again. Just get me up," Logan said. "I hate losing time."

Scott paused and slowly nodded. "Okay. I'll try harder to get you up next time."

"I think it'd work if you'd tried at  _all_ ," Logan said, one eyebrow raised as Scott shrugged.

"Alright, but I'm not sorry. You were dead on your feet." Scott went right back to his cereal as Logan smirked at his mug.

"You just about ready to go?"

"Yep," Scott said, almost hopping to his feet to take care of his bowl. "Big test in Bio today." he rushed by him and ran up the stairs to gather up his bookbag, and give Logan a couple of minutes to finish his coffee in peace.

Once Scott had been dropped off, Logan headed over to the diner to take a minute to grab a bite to eat and try to remember what it was he wanted to do next about the creeps with the drugs.

He'd figured out where the supply was coming from, and after a couple of nights of solid tracking, he knew where they did their deals, so really, logically, all he was sure of was that it was time to go hunting for creeps. Saturday had been a rough night.  _One_ guy had drugged three women all told, and the area Logan had to keep the women safe - and call them a cab - was starting to get overly busy considering that there were several men casting a wide net like that.

So he took his time that Monday morning working through his breakfast and coffee, reading the paper and watching for trouble. And once he was done, he checked his watch to see exactly how much time he had before he paid his tab and put his hat on, headed out of town for the day. Scott wouldn't need a ride until nearly seven anyhow, so he was free to finally  _hunt._

* * *

School was going well for Scott, and though the sign ups for track were up and over with, and he found himself wishing that he'd signed up, he really couldn't feel bad about his decision when he was doing so well at his job.

And his boss was just … great. She kept picking on him, just light enough that he knew she didn't mean any harm, and encouraged him all the way down the line. Everything from trying new things 'for the sake of professionalism' to comping Farrah her drinks with a smile that Scott just couldn't seem to stow - particularly when Farrah blushed just slightly and gave him a crooked smile every  _single_ time that he made her one of her frozen drinks.

He was enjoying his time at school and work more than he had anywhere else before.

So of course, it would be a matter of nerves come spring break when he had to smile and be friendly to the boy that started following Farrah into the coffee shop while he was stuck behind the counter working. To make matters worse, Evan was nowhere near the right kind of guy for Farrah, and she didn't even  _like_ it when he hung around and tried to scam answers off of her for his history homework.

"Do your own work, Evan," Farrah said in a bored tone for what had to be the hundredth time when very unexpectedly, Bridget came to Farrah's rescue.

"Are you going to order something?" Bridget asked with a smile that Scott had come to learn meant she was  _this_ close to kicking someone out of the shop.

"What?" Evan asked, bewildered and not at all expecting the tiny little brunette to confront him.

"Are you going to order something," Bridget repeated. "This isn't a study group, the kids that study here are regular  _paying_ customers, and frankly, you're not cute enough to pull in any kind of a following by virtue of your presence."

"Um ... " Evan faltered, then when Bridget didn't back down, he quickly slung his bookbag over his shoulder and rushed out the front door.

"You didn't think he was cute, did you?" Bridget asked Farrah, who quickly threw both hands up in front of her.

"Oh… noooooo," she said, shaking her head, her lips into a tight line. "MM-mm, no way."

"Good," Bridget said, picking up Farrah's glass. "I thought you had good taste."

Farrah blushed bright red as Bridget turned back toward Scott, smirking as if she knew exactly what she'd just broken up if Scott could believe the expression on her face - which only got him grinning at her.

"Water?" Scott asked before Bridget could make it behind the counter.

"I dunno, I kinda feel like I should  _order something_ ," Farrah said, giving Bridget a look of total disbelief.

"One frozen, overly sugared whatever the hell coming up," Bridget nearly sang out as she tapped Scott on the shoulder to get to work. "Dealer's choice, Caramel Mocha."

Scott couldn't hide the little laugh as he looked up at Farrah to get his instructions.

"I don't know, surprise me," she said with a grin. "I trust you."

"One frozen Caramel Mocha coming up!" Bridget called out, getting both teenagers to blush as Scott shook his head and started the drink to Farrah's laughter.

* * *

Logan's drive took him out to the coast, and halfway up to Seattle, where he  _knew_ the supply was coming from. He just didn't expect the guy running it to have such an obvious drug house. When he saw the place - and there was no doubt it was the place - he took pause.

As much as he wanted to go bursting in there and bust a few skulls and burn the supply, there was no way in hell that the cops didn't know what this place really was. So he kept driving as if that wasn't what he was looking for - and found a scenic overlook to park the jeep before he took to the woods, circling wide around the place as he looked for any sign of the cops getting involved.

He did  _not_ want to get picked up for any reason. Running an ID, even the one that Stark had gotten for him, would only end up with him getting illegally and spectacularly extradited back to Canada. And then what about Scott?

Logan stayed well hidden, and simply watched the place, and the road, hoping that he'd see some interest from authorities that would take it off of his shoulders. And when the county cruiser pulled up with a couple of other local squad cars, he held his breath, waiting to see what happened.

The guy in the house came out, flanked by half a dozen obviously armed men, but the cops didn't flinch. No one reached for their weapons on their end as he slimeball from the house shook hands with the sheriff and Logan felt his heart sink in his chest. This just got much more complicated.

* * *

It would be an understatement to say that Logan was distracted when he headed back to town to pick Scott up from his job. He pulled up to the curb and didn't even look to watch as Scott headed his way, grinning broadly at the afternoon he'd had so far.

But as soon as Scott realized Logan was so focused, the smile slipped from his face. "What happened?" he asked, his mind racing, and automatically jumping to the Department.

"Nothing happened," Logan said, shaking his head lightly. But when Scott just kept staring at the side of his head expectantly, Logan let out a breath. "The drug hunt just got a little more complicated, that's all. Nothing I can't handle, I just gotta work out a better strategy than what I had."

"Well … what did you have?" Scott asked, honestly interested.

"Doesn't matter now."

"Sure it does, unless the plan was just to go in and kick the crap out of everyone," Scott said dryly with a ghost of a smirk, though his whole body language shifted when Logan's mouth tightened slightly and it was abundantly clear that yes. That had indeed been the plan. "Oh come on."

"I was gonna burn the place to the ground too, don't get yourself knotted up," Logan replied, looking irritated that in retrospect, yeah. The plan was nowhere near up to snuff, all things considered.

Scott let out a scoff of disbelief as his cheeks turned red. "I wasn't ... " Scott swallowed hard and took in a breath to try again. "I'm just saying. That wouldn't do it for the cops."

"That was  _before_ I knew the cops were involved this deep," Logan replied. "It would have been fine if it'd just been some drug runners without protection, but … yeah. I gotta do something a little more refined and sneaky than what I had in mind."

"Let me help," Scott said, though Logan immediately shook his head.

"I don't want you mixed up in this mess," Logan told him. "Keep your mind on your schoolwork and your …. After school… things."

Logan could  _feel_ the dry look Scott was giving him and braced himself for the argument. But Scott took a lot longer to reply than Logan had expected. "I'm not asking to get involved with the execution of … whatever it is you do," Scott said finally. "Not …yet. But I  _can_ help figure out how to hit them. Let me  _help._  With the planning - the strategy. I can do that much, or at least help you do that part."

The Jeep was silent as Scott waited for a response, and Logan thought it over. He couldn't exactly say no with any solid reason other than 'I said so' and frankly, Scott had been amazing at finding tons of intel that Logan couldn't decipher from the mess of a file that Steve had given him. It was clear that the kid had an innate sense of order and a tenacious spirit that needed to find all of the answers once a question was posed.

And since he  _didn't_ have the military training and planning that Logan liked to tap into … it really was a fresh set of eyes. If they were lucky, between the two of them, they could come up with something that would throw these creeps for a loop.

"You'd have to keep out of the way when it came down to actually getting down to it," Logan said, glancing over at him. "That's a deal breaker, kid."

"I told you I'm not asking to be there when it happens," Scott said, holding his gaze. "But let me do what I  _can_."

Logan turned back to the road, and waited just a moment or two before he nodded his agreement. "I'll fill you in when we get back to the cabin."


	29. The Paths Converge Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short one, but ... the path laid out for the next one is a little more sweeping. I swear.

"We've been over this. If we call in the State police or the feds, it's not gonna go anywhere without the proof to back it up - and someone outside of me callin' it in," Logan said wearily as he poured another cup of coffee. "I just need to figure out how to do this so it doesn't  _look_ like  _I_ did it."

Scott stared at him for a moment, wondering if Logan realized anywhere near how paranoid that sounded. "Was it a regular thing for them to send you after guys like this?" he asked, only to frown deeper at Logan's answer after the older man shook his head.

"No, but it is one of those things that they know I can't pass up," he admitted. "Don't know how to explain it beyond that though. Not really." The last thing that Logan was going to do at this point was clue Scott in on the fact that every single time that he'd managed to get wrapped up in a woman, the circumstances involving the girl's death - even if she'd only been a friend - were always sketchy, and always ended with him back in custody to one group or another.

"Listen, we still have plenty of time to figure this part out … as far as I can tell, there won't be another delivery for a few weeks," Logan said when the silence stretched out for an uncomfortable span of time - at least. Uncomfortable as long as Scott was holding his tongue with that expression of sheer unease, that is.

"Right, I'll … focus on my schoolwork while you figure out how to not … react like you," Scott said as he got to his feet, shaking his head. "I'm sure that'll happen fast."

As Scott headed upstairs to get his backpack, Logan covered his eyes with one hand and leaned into his hand. The only thing he knew to be sure at this point was that he was probably screwin' this kid up pretty royally. And it would only be worse  _when_ the Department finally caught up to them.

When he heard Scott heading back down the stairs, Logan sat up a little straighter and quickly finished off his coffee, pointedly ignoring how much it scalded him as he rushed through the cup and got to his feet. "Same time at the coffee shop?" Logan asked, snatching his keys off of the table.

"Yeah, should be," Scott agreed, totally unaware of where Logan's mind had begun to wander. "Are you doing more recon today?"

"Only if it rains," Logan told him as he followed him out of the little a-frame cabin.

The ride to the school had been a bit quieter than Scott was used to, though he didn't think much of it considering how concentrated he knew Logan had been on this case, though he did file it away in the back of his mind as something to consider.

His first class of the day was a good snoozer, and it wasn't until lunchtime came that anything even remotely interesting happened.

He'd just gotten in line when he overheard Evan and his buddies talking about Farrah. And what she was hiding under all the baggy clothes. He tipped his head to the side, frowning to himself. He really didn't like the way these guys were talking, and even less so when their entire tone shifted when Farrah entered the cafeteria.

The boys in Evan's group tried to coax her into joining them as Scott resolutely kept facing away, though he was watching in his peripheral vision as Evan pulled her over and tried to keep her there.

At first, she sounded like she was going along with the joke … but then there was a serious change of tone in her voice and it was clear that they weren't going to let up, which was when Scott had taken about all he could handle.

He stepped out of line and turned their way, marching right up to the group. "Farrah, do you want to get a little fresh air?" Scott asked, clearly trying to give the other boys an out, and let this mess end peacefully. But Evan pushed Farrah behind himself and then shoved Scott with his other hand.

"Buzz off, Summers. No one wants you around," Evan said, in a condescending tone.

"Yeah, no," Scott said, shaking his head. "You need to take your hands off of her and leave her alone."

"Or what?" Evan laughed before he simply threw a punch.

But, not Evan, his friends, Farrah, or even  _Scott_ expected things to go the way they did. Scott dodged the punch, and entirely on instinct - and training - he blocked the second one and swept Evan's feet out from under him, dropping him on the ground with a crash and barely having moved at all.

When Evan's friend rushed him, he simply sidestepped at the last second and casually left his foot out- tripping the guy and ensuring that he landed face first on the floor. Evan popped up and took another swing, and with a quick motion, Scott deflected his strike and threw an elbow into Evan's face.

Scott was just as stunned as they were. Enough so that he simply wasn't prepared when Evan's  _other_ friend came up on his blind side and cracked him in the face hard enough that there was an echoing crunch that made Scott's stomach drop. It wasn't even the fact that the entire left side of his face was aching. Or that he was seeing double.

Scott screwed his eyes shut tightly for a moment then very cautiously cracked one eye open as the faculty gathered around the group and began to weed out one kid from another. His heart was pounding terrified that he'd see the red glow that meant they were entirely busted - but nothing happened except the fact that he saw quite clearly that his glasses were wrecked.

As he tried to pick up the pieces, clearly in a panic, the gym teacher pulled him to his feet and started hauling him down to the office. Scott held the remains of his ruby quartz glasses in his hands, refusing to look at where he was going as the teacher forcibly escorted him. "You boys are in serious trouble," the teacher told them as they reached the office.

 _No kidding,_  Scott thought to himself, frowning as the principal isolated the boys from one another so he could get the story clearly.

* * *

Scott really wasn't looking forward to what Logan had to say as he waited for him to come and get him. Farrah was sitting next to him and apologizing profusely for the mess, but Scott still refused to try and open his eyes. He was sure that he was in for it when Logan got there. Fighting, drawing attention to himself, and then the fact that he needed new glasses - which of course meant he'd need to tell Heather where to send them, and as Logan had told him that just meant it'd be a matter of time before they had to run.

He kept his eyes closed, though he knew when Logan showed up just by how half of the adults in the room sounded like they straightened up and held their breath. "Ready to get outta here, Slim?" Logan asked, though Scott was fully expecting him to chew the principal out again.

"Did you already talk to Mr. Jackson?" Scott asked, a little scared for a moment since he hadn't been told what his punishment was yet, and the realization suddenly had him on edge.

"Yeah, he covered it all on the phone," Logan told him, his voice perfectly relaxed. "Pretty cut and dried, but I wanna hear your side of it on the way home."

"Right," Scott said, nodding to himself once before he quietly told Farrah he'd see her later.

Logan didn't say a word, though he did keep a hand on Scott's shoulder since he knew the kid didn't want to tempt fate by opening his eyes when he was so upset. The two of them made their way to the jeep, and soon enough were headed off.

"I need … I need to call Bridget," Scott said, his eyes still shut tightly. "I can't go into work like this."

Logan turned his head to watch the boy for a moment, thinking it over. "You sure about that?"

Scott let out a mirthless laugh and shook his head. "I know I'm probably fine right now? But … I don't want to think about what happens if the glow thing turns on while I'm there. I don't know what it would  _do_. And that's just to the shop. That's not even figuring in what would happen as far as the authorities-"

"Alright, take it easy," Logan said, nodding his head as he turned onto the road that headed out of town and to their cabin. "You can call when we get back to the cabin. I'm sure she'll understand."

"This just … figures," Scott muttered.

"I'll talk to her if you think she's going to have a problem. Just tell her your glasses are broken and you can't see right until you get a new pair," Logan suggested.

"No, I'll talk to her myself," Scott said. "I can do that much."

The silence rang out for a good long time before Logan finally had to ask. " So. What happened - your side of it, since I heard the official story from the stuffed shirt already."

Scott drew in a deep breath and very mechanically repeated the same thing he'd told to his principal, Mr. Jackson. "Evan and his friends were harassing Farrah. They were just … rude. And too forward and it was one thing when they were just talking," he said before he paused. "But then they wouldn't let her physically leave. And I just … I don't know. He threw a punch … and then I just … I stopped him."

Logan had to smile to himself and couldn't help but let out a little chuckle as he clapped his hand on Scott's shoulder. "Good. You did good."

"But … I got suspended," Scott pointed out, finally cracking an eye open to peek - first at his hands, and when there was no red tinge to anything, he looked over at Logan who looked absolutely pleased.

"Doesn't matter. You did the right thing and protected your friend. Couldn't have done better myself," Logan said, giving him a rare little smile. "In fact, sounds like all you really need to do now is work on how to cover your back in a fight."

"I don't plan on getting into a lot of fights," Scott pointed out.

"No one ever does. But if you do, it's good to know your way around, don'tcha think?" Logan was still smirking, though not at all in the troublemaking way that Scott was used to seeing. This was something else entirely.

When they got back to the a-frame cabin, Logan gave Scott his privacy to call in to work and explain the situation. He was oddly impressed when Bridget told him to do what he needed, and that his job would wait for him, even after Scott admitted to her how his glasses got broken.

"So," Scott said, sounding a little dejected. "How do you usually get in touch with Heather?"

"What do I need to get in touch with . Heather for?" Logan asked with a frown. "She got a letter when we left New York."

"Yeah, but … the glasses … I kinda need another pair," Scott pointed out.

Logan nodded and frowned as he thought it over. "I think we oughta send it to Cap instead," Logan said slowly after a long moment. "At least we know he's not attached to the Department."

"What about Heather?" Scott asked, more than a little surprised that Logan was taking that stance.

"I'll send her more letters," Logan said. "From New York though. I'm not mailing anything from here. If anything I'll ship it to Cap first and have him drop it in the mail from there."

"That's … really not a bad idea," Scott admitted before he slowly took the glasses out of his coat pocket and very gently handed them to Logan, broken lens pieces and all.

Logan nodded his head and wrapped the glasses in a clean white t-shirt before he sat down and wrote a quick note to Steve explaining what the trouble was, and where he could send the new glasses. He paused and then wrote out the phone number in case there were any other questions or troubles that popped up. "I'll send this off now," Logan told Scott as he got to his feet. "Start up a fire out back. We're gonna burn a couple steaks tonight." He paused and couldn't help but smile again as he thought of how well Scott did with the creeps at the school.

"Shouldn't I be … grounded or something?" Scott said.

"Hell no," Logan said. "You deserve a reward for that." He didn't give Scott the chance to argue though as he slipped right back out of the door and headed back into town.

Scott stared after him for a moment with a look of disbelief on his face before he couldn't help but smile as he turned toward the back of the cabin and headed outside to start the fire up.


	30. A Familiar Pattern Emerges

With no constrictions on his day, Logan was making a point to sleep in a little bit, though Scott was steadfastly sticking to his usual schedule - right down to doing his assignments in order of when the classes ran, though he fudged the amount of time spent on one subject to the next.

And while Logan was gone scouting out the best attack for the drug dealers, Scott would spend a little time on the phone with Farrah, who was  _also_ suspended - though Scott had no idea what she could possibly have done to warrant a punishment herself considering that she was the one being picked on.

But Scott was getting good at paying attention to his surroundings, and all week, as soon as he heard the splash of water on tires, he'd promise to catch Farrah later and hang up before Logan could come back into the cabin.

"How's Farrah?" Logan asked when he came in the door, though Scott didn't answer right away, as he glanced up at him from the book he was reading - notes on his right, and the tips of his ears pink.

"Um … she's fine," Scott said, letting out a breath. No reason to lie. He knew it was a waste of time anyhow.

Logan nodded to himself and hung up his coat - it was only a week in, but he could see that there was certainly a pattern developing. "You still doing homework?" Logan asked before he finally gave Scott a little smirk. "Coulda sworn you were working on History when I left."

"That was yesterday's assignment. I'm trying to get ahead if I can. I worked through the other stuff."

He made a little noise in response, but it was pretty clear that Logan didn't entirely buy that one. Scott shook his head to himself. It  _wasn't_ a lie. And it was a little bit irritating that Logan  _knew_ it wasn't a lie and was still … doing.  _That_. "We've just been talking about assignments," Scott defended.

"Right. Must be nice to have full time tutor talks instead of bothering with actual class." Logan was smiling to himself as he took a seat across from Scott. "So. When are you going out?"

"Aren't I grounded?"

"What the hell gave you that idea? The school being stupid? No. I don't think so."

"I kind of need to get my glasses figured out first. You know. So something doesn't happen."

"It's being taken care of," Logan promised. "In the meantime - make some plans. You're doing fine without 'em."

Scott was quiet for a long moment as he considered things. "Have you heard anything from New York?" he asked, a hopeful expression on his features.

"Not yet, but it's been long enough, it's just a matter of time," Logan replied. He looked over his shoulder at the clock and swore under his breath. "Gotta head out. Tell Farrah 'hi' for me."

Scott smirked as Logan got up to leave. He was going in a little bit early - but Scott knew from what he was reading of the stuff that Logan had compiled on the drug dealers that it was a necessary move to try and catch the problem before too many women found themselves in a tight spot.

As it was, Logan was keeping it as close to the vest as he could - and the management was giving him free rein to handle it how he saw best - which, in this case meant 'random' searches of people as they came in.

The look of disbelief and anger on every single one of the drug pushers coming into the bar when Logan singled them out to search them - and confiscate the drugs was priceless in itself. And the fact that word was still making it around town that the bar was safest for women to go to had business booming.

Logan had just waved the ringleader forward for a search when the guy tried to spook him. "I know what you are," he said quietly, his gaze locked onto Logan as he stopped him, though Logan didn't look bothered in the least.

"Unamused and ready to kick your ass?" Logan replied before, while his gaze was locked onto the guy, he reached into the man's vest and removed the bottle of drugs. Without looking, Logan opened the bottle and dumped it into a bucket of water behind him.

The big biker narrowed his eyes and leaned forward to make sure the conversation continued privately. "You're goin' down, buddy. Watch your back, gene trash."

Logan smirked. "You do the same, flat-scan." He didn't drop the guy's gaze as he walked into the bar, even going so far as to wave the next few people in without incident before grabbing the next guy in line. Clearly, he wasn't with the biker crowd - not intentionally anyhow. Logan had grabbed him by the middle of his t-shirt and pulled him out of the line. "Alright. What the hell are you playin' mule for?"

The guy panicked - obviously blanching at being addressed. "I … I don't know what you're …"

"Right," Logan said, rolling his eyes before he made a point to pat the guy down unnecessarily, only to remove a much larger container of the same drugs - and dispose of them the same way. "Drugs aren't allowed in here, pal."

"Of course. I … don't know .."

"You do. Don't let him push you into it again."

"How did you …"

"Aside from the fact that you were sweating bullets and acting twitchy? Come on, pal." Logan shook his head. "You look like a tweaker. Act like one too. Shouldn't come as a shock that it's an easy thing to spot." He waved the guy through once he was sure he was clean and then gave the big biker a smirk.

 _What an amateur,_  Logan thought to himself as he set himself back to the task at hand. Though he couldn't help but feel the sinking sensation of knowing what was to come. Again, he'd been found out. And he was sure that before long, this creep would have called the MRD on him … and the moment his description hit their system - or worse, his name - it'd be a matter of  _hours_ before the Department as on him again.

But all that really did was step up the time table. He couldn't wait for a solid plan. He'd just have to talk to Scott tomorrow and let the kid know they had to find a new place to disappear to.

* * *

Scott didn't call Farrah back, instead, he'd poured himself into the information Logan had gathered on the creepy drug dealers. Not one of the guys in the files was a decent human being. How could they be if they were planning to drug women?

He'd moved on to a topographical map of the area that Logan had already marked the group's hideouts and stash points … and was trying to figure out a good way to deal with them when the phone rang. Scott barely looked up at it before answering, his focus clearly on the maps in front of him.

"Is Logan around?" The voice on the other end asked. "This is Steve Rogers."

Scott paused, eyes wide and his eyebrows high on his head as he took in the fact that Captain America was calling, and of course, he ended up answering a bit belatedly. "No - No, he's at work. This is Scott. Summers." he immediately cringed and covered his eyes with his free hand, mentally berating himself for answering  _Captain America_ like that. He could feel the blush on his cheeks, though when Steve replied, it was clear he was smiling.

"Hey Scott. I'm sorry to hear you got into a little bit of trouble, but I've got good news," Steve said, which was at least a relief to Scott as he melted into his chair. "As it turns out, Stark had already started on some new glasses for you when you guys left. He said the old ones looked too outdated. Anyhow. I've got the glasses, and about a dozen letters for Logan from this Heather woman. You'll have to fill me in on that later, by the way."

Scott couldn't help but smile at that as Steve continued. "I really needed to check the address on where he wanted these shipped. I won't say it over the phone, but is that address right? Tony was pretty set on sending it to his house on the coast. When did you guys move out of there?"

"We weren't there for more than a few days," Scott replied. "Logan was pretty insistent on moving since it wasn't anywhere near understated? And the escape routes were non existent."

"I'm somehow not surprised," Steve said back with a laugh. "A guy whose suit can fly doesn't really tend to think much beyond 'up and out'."

Scott couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Yes, Captain Rogers … the address is right. I was with him when he wrote the letter."

"Alright then. You're still carrying your comm, right?"

Scott hesitated. He had been - but once he got in trouble for fighting in school, he'd left it on his bedside table. "More or less," Scott replied. "I'll be sure to keep it on me once I can leave the house again." He paused and flushed, not wanting to admit  _why_ he wasn't in school. "You know, after the glasses come…"

"Well, keep an eye open for the package," Steve warned. "It should be there soon enough. Can't have a kid your age stuck inside all the time. And tell Logan I said 'hi'."

The two of them said their goodbyes - and none too soon, as Scott heard the splash of water on tires, and he turned to watch their pick up truck driving neighbor come in, though once again, his view of their mystery neighbor was obscured by the very cabin that this person had parked next to.

He had half a mind to head over there and introduce himself on more than one occasion. But he refrained. Even if curiosity was killing him. He turned to look at the clock - it wasn't too late, but as much as he hated to admit it, the headache was returning - slowly. And he was trying hard to keep it in check. But all of the deep breathing and tai chi and pressure points was a little wearing on it's own. So after another hour of trying to focus on the strategy for taking down the druggies, Scott decided to turn in early.

* * *

The next morning, Scott was awakened by the phone. He took a look at the clock and drew in a deep breath.  _He was late for schoo_ \- No. No, he was suspended. Not late. He rushed to catch the phone before it woke up Logan and was both surprised and relieved to hear Farrah this time.

"Hey, Caramel Mocha, can you come out to the coffee shop this morning? I'm missing my lattes something  _fierce_ and my parents said I'm allowed to go out. Will your dad let you go?"

Scott glanced toward the stairs for an instant. "Yeah, probably. What time are you thinking of going?"

"About an hour. We can pick you up," she offered.

"Let me see if he's up to giving me a ride first," Scott replied. "I'll call you back in five."

She cheerfully said goodbye before he very quietly hung up the phone and called out. "Logan? Are you up?"

"Yeah," Logan called back. "You got a hot date?"

Scott blushed but controlled his reaction otherwise, knowing that Logan couldn't  _see_ him. "Study session. Her parents aren't grounding her and we're both trying to prep for the test that's supposed to happen when we get back."

Logan smiled to himself from where he was laying on his bed.  _Right._  "Scotty, I can tell that's a lie all the way from up here. No shame in wanting to spend time with a pretty girl."

Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head. Apparently Logan was  _worse_ about this kind of thing when he just woke up. "Can you give me a ride or not? Her sister is going to come get me otherwise - if it's alright for me to go."

"Yeah, I'll give you a lift," Logan said. "Just gotta get a little coffee to get going."

"I'll start the pot," Scott offered, grateful that the cord to the phone reached all the way to the sink so he could kill two birds with one stone.

A short while later, Scott nervously stepped into the coffee shop, and Bridget let out a low whistle as the door closed behind him. The shop was a lot busier this time of day as most of the town was going in and out, grabbing their morning coffee. "Wash your hands and get back here, Caramel Mocha. I could use the extra help," Bridget called out.

For an instant, he thought of arguing, but when he saw the size of the line packed in around the door … he didn't even pause. "On the way."

When Farrah came in ten minutes later, the two of them had gotten the line down considerably, though the curly haired girl couldn't help but do a double take and smile when she saw him working behind the counter.

He was a little overdue for a haircut and his bangs kept dropping in front of his eyes … though when he glanced up at her and smiled … Farrah had to dart over to her seat with a deep blush on her cheeks.

"Hey, take it easy with that, Caramel Mocha," Bridget said quietly with a smirk on her face. "You're dangerous with those gorgeous brown eyes."

It was Scott's turn to blush, though obviously Bridget had no idea how true that statement could be. "Ah … do you still need me back here?"

Bridget smiled at him and shook her head. "No. You've been a wonderful help and we're pretty well cleared out. Make yourself and your lady something though before you leave the machine."

"She's not my-" But the look Bridget gave him only got another blush out of him. "Thank you." He shook his head and headed to the end of the counter so he could ask Farrah what she wanted, and he was totally taken off guard when she glanced up with wide eyes.

"Um … you know the kind of stuff I like - whatever you feel like making," Farrah said. "I wasn't really expecting you to be working though."

"Neither was I," Scott replied as he whipped up Farrahs' favorite frozen concoction, and of course, Bridget reached around him to put a drizzle of caramel on top as Scott grinned at her.

"That should be your signature," she told him with a wink as Scott put Farrah's drink on the counter nearest her then quickly made himself his namesake.

"You're a troublemaker," Scott accused Bridget as he passed her by, drink in hand.

"Which is why you keep coming back," she shot back, getting a laugh out of him while he took the seat across from Farrah.

He was still smiling when he finally met her gaze. "Sorry, I wasn't planning to work when I came in. What's up?"

It took Farrah just a moment to snap out of it, staring openly at him for a moment. "I'm sorry I just … I don't think I've ever seen your eyes." Scott's smile fell for an instant and she quickly put her hand up and shook her head. "No, it's a good thing. I don't think …"

"She can't concentrate with all the pretty," Bridget sang out, getting both teenagers to turn colors.

"Oh my God,  _Bridget_ ," Farrah said under her breath before she just looked up at Scott. "I was unprepared for the shades free look. And it makes me sorry that you need them. Because she is not wrong."

Scott took just a moment before the smile returned in force. "Right."

"Hmm? Oh. Okay," Farrah said before she put on a broad, bright smile to re-set herself. "So… anyhow ... My sister and her friends got tickets to go see Queen in Portland, but a couple of them backed out last minute. She said the tickets are ours if we want them."

Scott looked surprised for a moment. "When …"

"Two weeks. She said she'd drive, but you know. If you can kick in for gas at all, I'm sure she'd appreciate it. Half of her friends don't really do that."

"Yeah - I just … let me talk to my dad and make sure it's okay."

"And … that  _hopefully_ is enough time to get your glasses in, right? I mean …  _I won't complain_ if you don't have them …"

"Yeah, they should be in," Scott replied, half hiding behind his drink. Neither one of the teenagers quite knew how to react as Bridget started singing  _Brown Eyed Girl_ under her breath with the lyrics twisted around to better suit the young man turning redder with every passing line.

* * *

When Scott met up with Logan again, Logan had decided that he'd let the boy know about the not-so-subtle threat he'd gotten from the moron drug dealer at the bar the night before, but before he could say anything, Scott surprised him.

"So … Farrah invited me to go to a concert with her and her sister," Scott said. "I told her I needed to ask first - it's in two weeks, so the glasses should be here by then. I hope."

Logan answered before he really thought it over. "Sure, no reason not to," he said, though it tasted like a lie as he said it and he had to control the urge to lay the cards out for the kid. He could stretch it out so Scott had a little bit of fun. Lord knows the boy earned it. He just wasn't sure how nasty the biker creeps were gonna get if it continued for much longer. Luckily, he didn't have to focus on it too much as Scott tried to explain how the arrangements were going to work out, and the way he was talking was so incredibly age appropriate - for once - that Logan simply decided that was just how it was gonna be.


	31. Mail Call

When the weekend hit, Scott was the one to get the brown paper wrapped package from an address he'd never heard of somewhere in Brooklyn. He frowned when he saw the address, expecting to see the same one that was on his passport … but after he thought about it for a few moments, and double checked the name - 'Rogers' he realized that this was Captain America's home address.

He stopped, and after a moment he couldn't stop the smile that appeared for oh, so many reasons. The package was addressed to him, and he knew exactly what was in it, so he cracked it open before Logan returned from his scouting trip, honestly on edge waiting to see the glasses.

He didnt' realize he was holding his breath until after he got the case opened up and let it all out in a rush as a grin spread across his face. He turned the glasses over in his hands a couple of times - and he couldn't quite believe what he was looking at, if he was being honest. They were  _much_ sleeker than the ones that Heather had gotten for him, and they were almost perfectly fitted to his face already. When he took a look at them in the mirror once he put them on, he grinned even wider. They actually look  _decent_ \- red lenses and all.

"Okay, maybe Tony Stark isn't so bad," he muttered to himself - and since he was alone, he wasn't worried about it ever coming back to bite him. He headed back to the box and raised an eyebrow. Cap hadn't been kidding. There was at least a dozen letters from Heather in there - all tied together with a string, and just like that, Scott's curiosity was piqued. But he wasn't about to so much as touch that stack of letters.

The truth was, the longer they went without Logan writing Heather, the more calm he seemed to be. Before, when they were regular things, it was clear to Scott that Logan was looking for them. Waiting to see what Heather had to say … about anything.

It was like watching a break up in slow motion, only … Logan had been very clear that they hadn't been dating, so Scott wasn't quite sure what to call it. But he was sure that the letters were a harbinger of trouble.

He carefully looked deeper into the package - and found a letter for himself in a bubbly, cheerful looking script and smirked to himself - sure that it was from Janet VanDyne … and that she was making a point to check on him while she had the option to do so.

So, with a little smirk, he headed over to have a seat on the couch near the window with the letter in his hand.

_Scott -_

_I hope you two are alright, and I hope you know that I expect you to call me if you get into any trouble - comm or not, you need to let me know - just to be sure you're alright._

_Tony insisted on the fancier frames for your glasses, I wouldn't let him go too modern though. I insisted on having a hand in them - and in case you don't figure it out right away, these have that ruby quartz embedded into the frames as well, so your vision shouldn't have any obstructions. At all._

_All of the news we have on that program looking for Logan is in Steve's letter, so I won't repeat it. Not when I want to know how you're settling in. I looked into that area and I know you were playing hockey before … are you okay without a sport to play? Have you gotten into trouble? Pretty girls? If you need anything - don't hesitate to ask! You should look your best and that man you're travelling with … well._

_Don't forget me - hope to hear from you soon!_

_Jan_

He was still smiling at the letter - and the mother henning that Jan had tried to accomplish when he heard the splash of water on tires and Scott turned his head in time to see Logan pull into the drive. He glanced up at the clock and shook his head. It was later than he thought.

When Logan walked in, Scott got to his feet. "The package came," he said, gesturing to the kitchen table. "There are some letters in there for you, and one from Captain Rogers."

Logan stopped and looked up at Scott with a small frown as he took in the new look. "Nice shades." He headed toward the kitchen, hanging his coat on the hook as he did so, tossing the package of letters from Heather on the table as he looked through the box and pulled out Steve's first.

Logan let out a breath as he sat down - clearly more interested in what Steve had to say. He frowned deeper as he read it, and halfway through, his hand absently reached for the tied together stack from Heather.

Scott's smile slipped off his face as he watched Logan … it didn't necessarily  _look_ like good news. But instead of asking too early, Scott took the seat across from Logan and simply continued to watch as Logan untied the string one-handed and then let his hand rest on top of the stack of letters.

When he was done reading, he glanced up at Scott and wordlessly handed him the letter before he turned to the stack in his hand and sorted through to the oldest one first … though there was no way he was reading them for as fast as he was going through them.

It was almost distracting to Scott. He was trying to read what Steve had written - a little in awe at the perfectly neat script on the page while Logan opened one letter after another in almost rapid succession. When Scott looked up at him, it looked as if he was hungrily devouring every word on the page - through his focus seemed to only get more intense as he moved from one letter to the next. "Is … everything okay?" Scott asked.

Logan held up one finger as he got into the newest letter and quickly scanned over it, only to lean into his hand as he covered his mouth with the web of skin between his thumb and forefinger once he was finished with it. He thought for a long while before finally, he drew in a deep breath and sat back in his chair.

"Logan?"

Logan looked up at Scott and quietly cleared his throat as he shook his head. "She has no idea where we are. And I plan on keeping it that way." He pushed back from the table and paused for just a moment before he put an empty coffee mug on the stack of letters. "I'll read those later. Don't have the time now. Go ahead and help yourself, she's got a few things in there for you too."

"I thought you just …"

"No. I was looking for a code. A little tip off to say that the Department was on the right path. I'll read them later." He gave Scott a tight sort of almost smile before he headed upstairs to change. A glance at the clock showed Scott that Logan really only had maybe another hour before he had to get down to the bar.

With a concentrated frown, Scott turned back to Cap's letter.

….  _Stark's computer says that they've got it narrowed down to the Northwest, but that they're not any closer than the general region. I won't call if it looks like they're on the right track. I'm just going to show up and to hell with worrying about how the Avengers look for it. I'm not going to stand by while they do human experimentation -_ especially  _on unwilling subjects. I can't help but feel like part of this is my fault, or that I hold some responsibility here. Seeing as they were trying to replicate the super-soldier program that Dr. Erskine created._

 _As far as the drug dealers go, there is a small problem. The sample you sent doesn't show up with the drug tests that are available right now. Pym checked twice - no luck, so as far as pulling in the authorities … I'm afraid it just won't work. Not yet. Apparently, this is new._ Very  _new - so as soon as Stark and Pym have a way to reliably detect it, I'll send it your way. He'll probably market it himself if this is something that's not just in the northwest._

_In the meantime - try to keep your head down. The Department hasn't found you yet, but they're looking hard. You've got maybe a month or two if you play your cards right. Either way, I want you two out of there before then. We'll figure out a place for Scott to finish up school, even if he ends up here with us in New York while you're laying low._

_But you've_ got  _to lay low, Logan._

_I still have no idea how the hell you find yourself in so much trouble all the time. Let me know if you need anything else. If you use the Avengers' address, Jan is going to be the one in charge of it - but if you want to go around them and straight to me, send it to the address on the package._

_I've got your six._

_Steve_

Scott frowned at the letter. He had no idea that the Department was that close - and Logan must have known or Cap wouldn't have been so clear in telling Logan what was what.

When Logan came back down, Scott was waiting for him with a frown on his face and his glasses next to him on the table. "Should I be worried?" Scott asked.

"No more than usual," Logan replied frankly. "There's probably a thousand places in the region that I'd consider a spot to hide. It should take some time for them to sift through it - and we probably won't be able to stay for too long anyhow."

"Did you find a way to handle the druggie creeps?"

Logan let out a breath and crossed the room to grab some leftover take out from the night before. "Yeah. I found who's bringing them in, and as soon as I have the date of their next restocking, we can figure out how best to handle it. But right now …"

"You have to go in early."

"Yep."

It was clear that Scott had more questions, and that he was troubled with what Logan had told him - but also that he wasn't entirely sure how to phrase himself so that he didn't sound like he was freaked out.

"I'm not gonna go in after 'em, and I'm hangin' back on stopping too much right now. It'll be fine," Logan told him as he pulled out his wallet and dropped a twenty on the table.

"Shouldn't we be conserving our resources if we're going to have to run?" Scott asked with one eyebrow raised.

Logan paused and stared back at him for a moment with a little frown before he drew in a quick breath and held it for a moment. "Just … do whatever you think is right. I'll be back at the usual time."

As Logan left, Scott frowned to himself a little deeper. He needed to do more. The suspension wasn't going to help his income issues, but now that he had his glasses again, at least he didn't feel like he had to worry about getting them busted with an errant blast from his eyes.

He had barely decided to put the money away and make himself a sandwich when the phone rang - Farrah looking to chat, as always.

* * *

The last week of suspension for Scott passed very much like the first, with the simple addition of meeting up with Farrah on the last morning when they  _would_ have been going to school. Logan didn't mind dropping him off, and Bridget loved having the help during the rush. Besides .. the two teenagers actually  _did_ spend the better part of the day doing homework … though they were done fast.

The two of them spent the rest of the morning just chatting - and flirting. Until Farrah's headed into the bathroom to freshen up.

Scott shook his head after the girl's curly brown locks disappeared around the corner, and couldn't help but smile. He was having a great time with her. And … he was doing it without the glasses on, though they were carefully tucked away in a zippered pocket to keep them safe.

"Hey Caramel Mocha," Bridget called out softly as she leaned on the counter nearest him. "I really did appreciate your help … both mornings. You're good to have around."

Scott couldn't help but smile at that. "Thanks. I was happy to help."

"I was going to say - if you want to pick up shifts on school days that are off, or more weekend shifts - you just need to show up."

"Well … that might be more an issue of getting a ride in," Scott admitted with his hand resting at the back of his neck.

"If your dad won't give you a ride, let me know ahead of time and I'll pick you up and bring you back," Bridget offered.

Scott was taken back, but honestly glad to hear it. With the concert coming up he wanted to be able to pay Farrah's sister back for the ticket  _and_ kick in for gas. "That … that would be great, thanks." He gave her an honest smile and Bridget nodded to herself before she wrote down her number.

"Just let me know the night before if you want to go in early and I'll come pick you up if you can't work it out with your dad," she told him before she went back to work - though he didn't have time to consider it before Farrah showed up and just gave him a slow nod, looking down her nose at him where he sat.

"I see how it is," she said slowly. "I leave for five minutes and you scored the cute barista's phone number."

"Woah - come on, it's for work."

"Ri-i-i-ight," Farrah said, smirking crookedly before she turned to where Bridget was washing some stainless steel canisters. "Are you hitting on my friend here?"

"Hitting on your  _boyfriend_ , what?" Bridget called back without turning their way, though she started laughing almost immediately. "Are you  _both_ blushing?"

"No," they replied in unison, which only got Bridget to stop what she was doing and turn their way laughing.

"It's the brown eyes, seriously," Bridget defended. "Just so pretty."

* * *

As promised, Logan was doing his best - all things considered- to lay low. He was still screening people as they came through, and to his relief, the guys quit trying to bring in more of the drug under his nose … for a little while.

It was nearly the following week when Logan ended up biting the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood when a woman went past him carrying the drugs on her. And not in her purse. He was instantly angry - on many levels - but mostly … he hadn't been searching the women. And if he started now, it would be the glaring flashing red light that he knew the dealers were looking for to call in backup from official creeps to bust him out.

He'd done it to himself - backing himself into that corner since he'd only done quick peeks for weapons in purses, while the men got a much more thorough search. There wasn't anything he could do to stop it coming in. Not like this. Not so close to Scott getting a chance to be a kid for five minutes.

He managed to keep his facade intact as the nervous woman went past him, and as he screened out the rest of the incoming crowd, he kept an eye on her … not surprised in the least when she went almost straight to the jerk running the smuggling operation and handed him a small package as he kissed her cheek.

It was going to be a long night. And he knew it.

He wasn't surprised at all to find that crap started happening fast. Less than half an hour in and there were already two women that absolutely could not have gotten  _that_ drunk  _that_ fast. Logan growled to himself and tipped his chin to the bartender, who after a moment of confusion at the old signal, nodded and opened up the back room that Logan had been using before to keep the drugged women safe.

And it was like that all night. Funnelling ladies into the room before they passed out cold, and trying to catch the creeps in the act - though handling that while watching the door wasn't a simple task, and seeing as it was just Logan on duty … there were bound to be one or two that slipped by. He was furious to the point of growling, and there wasn't much he could do. Not until after he left the bar anyhow.

Closing time came and as soon as the bar was cleared out, the drugged up women were sent home safely, and things were locked up, Logan headed out right for one of the main drop points - not at all intending to spend the wee hours of the morning chasing down creeps … but then -

Seeing who it was that had taken advantage of the drugged woman was enough to get him to snap. The guy was one of the dealer's brothers. Until tonight, Logan hadn't thought the guy was involved at all, but … it was clear that he was at the very least taking advantage of the situation, and seeing as the Sheriff's son was on scene too, the chances of the police doing  _anything_ against these losers was slim to none.

So Logan waited for the guy to leave the group and followed him deeper into the trees. The sky was just starting to turn colors over the forest when Logan caught the guy alone,  _whistling_ to himself as he unlocked his camper.

He was pretty sure he hadn't even blinked as he rushed forward and cracked the guy in the back of the head and just started pounding the hell out of him, enjoying every muted crack that meant a broken bone.

* * *

When Logan finally came back to the house, much later than he would have normally, he was met with a very awake and concerned young man. It was clear that Scott had been up either late -or had gotten up early, though which it was really didn't matter when he looked that stressed out.

"You alright?" Logan asked as he hung up his coat. He'd managed to clean up most of the blood from beating the rapist in the woods … but most was not all, and Scott had an eye for detail, he was soon to discover.

"Your shirt's torn," Scott said, and the stress was  _obvious_ to see when he didn't have the glasses on.

"Yeah. That happens sometimes when I hit people," Logan said easily as if it was simply another boring detial of the day, then held up both hands trying to keep Scott on track. "It's fine. All in the line of work. Just … taking care of a creep that got one through."

Scott stared at Logan for a moment. " _How_?" he asked. "I thought the whole point was to keep them from getting that far."

"It was," Logan agreed, rubbing one eye with the palm of his hand. "Happened anyhow."

Scott's gaze drifted to the blood Logan was still wearing. "What … exactly… did you do?"

"He's still alive if that's what you're worried about." He held up his hand so Scott could see the back of it. "No claws. At all. But he won't be bothering any women again."

Scott frowned for a while longer before he took a deep breath and let it out. "We're going to have to leave soon, aren't we."

"Yeah, but that looked like it was the case anyhow."

"When?"

Logan drew in a deep breath and held it as he weighed it out. "I'll know better after tonight."

Scott nodded once. "Alright," he said, drawing out the word into longer than he needed to.

"I don't think these guys are the type to call in the cops for help," Logan clarified. "If they think I'm bein' a pain, they'll want to deal with it themselves. That's how it is with drug dealers. They probably won't consider anything outside of that until … well. After I trash their next big deal." He headed toward the stairs so he could clean up. "That's just how it is with criminal types. No reason to pull down heat that might screw up their own dirt if they can help it."

Scott nodded slowly but didn't exactly look happy about it. "Yeah, well. Watch your back, okay?"

"Sure thing," Logan replied easily. "I always do."

After Logan disappeared, Scott went back to his spot on the couch. Now was probably not the best of times to ask for a ride into town - but maybe once Logan wasn't so … fresh off a fight, he'd talk to him about Bridget's offer for more hours.

* * *

The first day back at school was not at all what Scott was expecting - especially considering that it seemed like a lot of the kids that had never so much as said hello to him were a lot more friendly.

He still wore his glasses in school - preferring to not push his luck in a place like that - but even that was getting him compliments from unexpected places.

"Hey there Mr. Popular," Farrah said as he took his seat with her in Biology. "Kinda wild how you get all kinds of pats on the back from being a ninja and stomping all over Evan and his buddies."

"I'm not a ninja," Scott laughed, shaking his head at her antics.

"You so are," she chuckled. "You didn't see yourself when you were going all …  _Enter The Dragon_ on that jerk."

Scott couldn't help but smile - there was no arguing with her when she was like this. The accusations would only get more and more ridiculous. "I think you're picking up cues on how to tease people from Bridget."

"She's a fine, shining example on how to pick like a professional," Farrah agreed. "I wonder if she'll call me 'Grasshopper', ninja-boy."

Scott rolled his eyes at that, but couldn't stop the smile as Farrah leaned closer to him. "Are you excited about the concert?"

Scott hedged for a moment. The truth was he had been … but with the trouble Logan was watching come in, and the trouble with the Department slowly creeping in on them … he wasn't sure. But then Farrah grinned at him in the most troublemaking way and he couldn't help but smile back at her. "Yeah, I think I am."

She nearly squealed as she bounced in her seat. "Yes! Okay, so we're going to leave a little early day of - and we can just pick you up -"

"How early?" Scott asked.

"Oh … we were going to get dinner before so like … three o' clock?" she said.

Scott let out a breath. "I'm working until two," he said, but that just got her to smile wider.

"So …you'll already be in  _town_  …. I'm sure Bridget will let you hang out for an hour."

Scott nodded. "I'm sure."

"Great! It's settled. We'll get you at the coffee shop on Saturday."

"I was hoping to check in with my dad before we took off," Scott said, smiling a little to himself internally.

"So … call him from the coffee shop if you think he can't survive the evening without you. I'm sure he'll be okay," Farrah said. "That guy is built like a tank."

Scott laughed out loud at that, then quickly dipped his head down to hide the fact that he'd done it as the teacher shot a glare their way.

The rest of the week was a rollercoaster of nerves. Every evening Scott would watch Logan head off to go to work looking like his starting point of grumpy was more and more pronounced as the days wore on. He didn't need Logan to tell him that the creeps were getting more efficient at slipping drugs into the bar, or that they were looking for whoever was responsible for beating the hell out of their friend.

It was clear from what he'd gotten out of Logan that they at the least suspected him, but they couldn't tell for sure if it was him. Logan admitted that they were more tense around him, but he kept his act straight as it had been even if he wanted to gloat about it.

But Logan had also promised to keep it low key until after the concert  _at least,_ and when the big day finally came around, Scott wasn't sure what exactly he was nervous about. The concert, the three hour drive up … and all the time to kill before the show started ….

Or if it was all about the looming trouble with … well. Everything around Logan.

But … he worked his shift, with Bridget singing little songs under her breath the whole time, teasing him relentlessly until he checked the clock, made his call and then headed out the door - moments after Bridget shoved the entire contents of the tip jar into his hands. "Have fun! I wanna hear about it when you get back."

"No - I can't…"

"Scott, shut up and take the money or you're fired," Bridget told him before she gave him a look and shooed him. "You need a little extra pocket money. Now go. Buy a t-shirt or something."

"Thanks," Scott said, unable to hide the smile as he finally waved her way and stepped out of the shop.


	32. Queen Killer

Scott was taken a little off guard when the little group of teenagers made their way into the city for their concert. The whole place was buzzing, but it was a totally different kind of feel to it than any of the big cities Scott had been to so far.

Where Anchorage wasn't nearly as big as the other cities - and still went to 'sleep' at a reasonable time, and Omaha was almost … matter of fact, on schedule … Portland was  _alive._  He could see people on the streets in all kinds of different dress and social class - many of them easily interacting in a way that he really hadn't seen before. It was friendly. And even in the dampness, there was a warmth to the interactions between people. Not like New York, which never slept and felt impersonal with every person you met.

No, Portland was … well it was kind of nice.

That's not to say that he hadn't expected the vast, semi-dirty city with the cluttered streets and bums at the corners. He did. That was part of big city life. But he hadn't expected the fact that as they grabbed dinner, they could easily see Mount St. Helens in the distance, smoking away like the now-active volcano she was.

"Woah," he almost whispered under his breath as he took in the dark, muddy trails that marred what had once been a pristine mountain-scape. It had only been nearly two years since St. Helens had awakened - and she was still letting everyone know she wasn't ready to sleep yet.

As they sat down outside in the patio at the burger joint, he couldn't help but stare at the volcano - looming almost menacingly beyond the city like some sort of realistic Mount Doom.

None of the others said a word, and all of them seemed to be doing the same thing … watching the volcano while the news on the radio reported how there had been a massive event overnight that had resulted in what they were already calling the 'little grand canyon of Mt. St. Helens' as they reported that residents and visitors should be prepared for more seismic activity.

When the group was settled, and properly tired of watching for an eruption, they headed to the concert venue. Once they were inside, the entire crowd was buzzing - both energetically and literally - Scott found himself more than a little uncomfortable as he realized how incredibly thick the air was with marijuana smoke.

He couldn't turn around without running into someone or another that was freely passing a joint.

Scott couldn't help but frown at the situation, though he was outright shocked when someone put the joint in his hands with a broad smile.

"I don't… no," he tried to explain, trying to give it back, but all that got was warm smiles from the people around him and encouragement to share it with someone else, then.

"I'm not-" Scott started to say before Farrah's sister just plucked it out of his hand and passed it down.

"Just run with it," she said.

Scott frowned at her but couldn't deny that he was glad to not have to deal with it - until the whole process ended up repeated over again, with Farrah giggling at his increasingly frustrated look every time he had to say "I don't smoke" again. And again.

The lights went down, and it wasn't more than a few minutes of the crowd chanting, screaming and stomping - and more joints getting passed all around him - before the lights on stage went up to the now, so familiar and slightly overplayed ' _Lonely is the Night'_ , and though the song wasn't too bad, it really wasn't very good live. And the guy singing it didn't have enough good songs to make a full set list, so halfway through Billy Squire's opening act, the crowd started chanting for the main event.

Small pockets in the crowd started up the familiar stomp-stomp-clap until it was echoing from every corner of the stadium and Billy Squire's band seemed to make a quick shift to end the set list.

The stomping and shouting continued as the road crew moved things around in a rush - the house lights still mostly down, and the stage lights off. There were sound checks that had the crowd on its feet as the speakers played fairly low … just popular music as the set was finalized and the electricity of the crowd began to rise …

The lights fell and the stadium was entirely black, except of course for the flickering of lighters that looked like a sea of tiny flames flickering on and off through the cheering crowd. The volume of the crowd alone was nearly deafening, but Scott couldn't stop the grin at the excitement level all around him - and Farrah was bouncing in place, grinning widely and occasionally joining in the shouts - though for as close as they were standing he couldn't hear her at  _all_.

She turned his way with a massive grin and handed him a lighter - and he stared at it for just a moment until she raised one up herself - lit with a small dancing flame. He had to smile her way and shake his head and followed suit.

There was a random scratch from a guitar that had the crowd rising again. They couldn't see the band, but now they all knew they were there … somewhere up ahead in the darkness - and the crowd was in a frenzy that Scott was sure had met it's peak until the search lights started up and the beginning of ' _Flash'_ started up with only roving lights that came nowhere near the stage until it lit up with a massive burst of fire and smoke.

And just like that it had started. Between songs, the lights dropped down, but only long enough to show that they were changing songs - and then they'd pop back up with the fresh guitar chords, or piano - or whichever it was that kicked off the next song.

The crowd was in a frenzy when they did ' _We Will Rock You'_ , and ' _Under Pressure'_ but there were snippets of ' _Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On'_  and it was just too perfect when they did an amazingly seamless transition from ' _Crazy Little Thing Called Love'_ right into ' _Bohemian Rhapsody'_. Though he really couldn't figure out how that worked out.

But through the amazing music, and the massively exciting atmosphere, he simply wasn't expecting the pot to keep coming. And though he wasn't smoking it -  _at all_  - he was starting to get a headache.

He frowned to himself, unsure if it was from the growing headaches he'd been ignoring - and treating with a combination of coffee, aspirin, meditation, and pressure points - or if it was from the weed that it seemed like the entire stadium was smoking.

By the time ' _Somebody to Love'_ came on - with a lot more flourish and vocal work from Freddie Mercury, Scott had pulled out his glasses and was on edge, jaw locked as he tried to keep his nerves under wraps as best he could.

Very suddenly, he had new concerns - and he was flat out worried that the red glow would start up in a crowd of that size. Mutants were not accepted - not even in this forward thinking city- and in the middle of a crowd of that size - that he'd already seen whipped into a mob mentality over a simple song … he was suddenly very nervous.

But just when he was really starting to get keyed up, Farrah took a hold of his hand and gave him a smile that had him blinking away some of the nerves. If anything was weird, she'd have said something - and she was so used to seeing his glasses that if they were glowing, he knew she'd ask.

And just like that it seemed like the show was over … though even he knew better than that. The crowd was in a frenzy again - almost rabid as they shouted for the band to return to the stage, and Scott and Farrah found themselves covering their ears as the volume got to ridiculous levels.

Just when they thought for sure that it really was it … ' _Another One Bites The Dust'_ started up and the crowd somehow got even louder. The mood was infectious, and the music was amazing … and they went through their most popular and well received songs for their finale with ' _We Will Rock You',_ and ' _We Are The Champions',_ and finally an amazing rendition of ' _God Save The Queen'._

But by that time, Scott had really had his fill of the crowd - and how easily reactive they were to every little thing, and as the final strains of the guitar faded into the ecstatic roars of the fans, he was seeing for the first time exactly how easily a crowd full of people could be whipped into a frenzy.

But there wasn't any time to think about that before Farrah's sister tapped her on the arm and she, in turn, took a hold of Scott's arm as their little group fought their way out of the still-cheering crowd.

They just barely got out into the lobby when the flow of traffic seemed to suddenly follow them and the pack of teenagers held tight to each other as they nearly ran out into the darkness of the streets outside the arena. They were barely into the parking lot when a soft  _whump-whump_ started up. Scott and Farrah turned just in time to see the explosion of sparkles cascading down over the arena where fireworks were being launched. They walked toward where her sister had parked and simply stood there, enjoying the flash and sparkle, and Scott was smirking to himself - not having expected a fireworks display on top of everything else.

He turned to Farrah, a smile on his face just a moment before she bit her lip then leaned forward to steal a kiss as more explosions overhead showered down sparks and streamers of light. He had no idea how long they stood there like that before Farrah's sister laid on the horn and gave them an expectant sort of look.

"We do want to beat traffic, right?" she said, and though she sounded impatient, she was smiling at the pair of them.

"On our way," Farrah called back before she took Scott's hand and pulled him along, blushing in the sparkles of light.

* * *

Back at the bar, the music was going as the mood in the bar was high - the women in town were a little more cautious, and they had finally seemed to get to the point that they were watching their drinks - anxious from the stories that had been circulating - and Logan was sure that he pushed the stories as cautionary tales to the ladies that were somewhat unconvinced of how perilous a situation it really was.

Which really only ticked off the drug dealers - but he simply wasn't going to ignore what they were trying to do and let these women suffer. That would have been the same as advocating it as far as Logan was concerned. And that just wasn't going to happen.

He'd just let a few women leave - escorted by a few decent guys that he'd checked over himself - when one of the dealers decided to start something. They made a rush to leave and were sure to shoulder check Logan on his way past him. And though Logan rolled with it he didn't back down. There was no way he was going to let that idiot slip past when he was clearly starting a fight.

"Watch where you're going or I'll put you on the ground," Logan called out before the guy had gotten more than a few steps away - which of course, what Logan was hoping for. Try as he might to keep his temper in check, weeks and weeks of these idiots mistreating everyone around them and talking down to him had finally gotten to a point where he simply couldn't take it one minute longer.

The guy turned, using his momentum to lead with a wild right swing that Logan simply stepped out of before he tripped the guy - not even bothering to act like he was in a fight, casually lighting a cigarette even as he ducked the punch. As the guy went to the ground, Logan turned and booted him in the ass, driving the man's face that much harder into the dirt. "What did I tell you?" Logan said, cigarette in hand as he stood over him. "Get the hell out of here, I'm not letting you back in here for at least a week."

"You can't stop me from coming in," the creep sputtered, furious at Logan's response.

"Yeah? You think you can get past me?" Logan asked, crossing his arms and glaring at him. "I don't let troublemakers in. That's you. Go crawl back under your rock, you lowlife sack of crap."

The guy made a fresh lunge, and again, Logan barely bothered to react outside of simply sidestepping him, and still, he hadn't picked his hands up to fight, relying on the guy wearing himself out as he tried - and failed to land a hit. Which was fine and dandy until two of his friends joined in the 'fight' and Logan finally  _had_ to start at least deflecting their attacks, though he was sure to keep his cigarette in his mouth as he did so - knowing full well it'd rile them that much more seeing him put in minimal effort.

The bartender saw what was happening and had picked up the phone - ready to call the cops, but as was the policy in the bar, he called out to them to warn them first. "Hey! Clear out or I'm calling the fuzz!" he shouted, and after another failed attack the three men going after Logan paused - panting.

"Go ahead and call 'em," Logan called back. "I'll bet they'll want to talk to these morons."

The bartender smirked Logan's way, but still gave the men involved a chance to stop since the response time for the state police that covered that area was a bit longer than he'd like to wait around for, and he was sure by the time they showed up it would be Logan answering questions as the other three would be on the ground.

Looking like they'd rather keep fighting, the men shared a look as Logan took a long, relaxed draw off of his smoke, one hand on his hip and clearly not bothered in the least before they shook their heads and headed into the parking lot. "We're not done with you," one of them said as menacingly as he could with one finger pointed Logan's way.

"I'm shakin'," Logan drawled out, though he watched them with a glare as they left the bar and the bartender let out a low whistle.

"You know they'll fight dirtier, right?" he asked when the door was closed and the music started back up again - quiet at first.

"Let 'em," Logan replied, taking his time as he headed back to where he had been seated to watch over the bar. He glanced up at the clock … just an hour left before close, and if his guess was right, he'd probably be getting back to the cabin about the same time Scott did.

And he wasn't wrong either. By the time Logan got back to the cabin, it was nearly two thirty in the morning, and he'd only been there ten minutes before the splash of water on tires echoed to his sharp ears indicating that someone was headed down the drive. He watched as headlights illuminated the grouping of cabins - and shortly after, a car door slammed and Scott came in, still smiling to himself.

"How was the show?" Logan asked, frowning only slightly when he saw that the boy was back in his glasses.

"Show was great," Scott replied, grinning outright in spite of himself. "My ears are still ringing."

"Sure it's not from the weed?"

Scott let his shoulders drop. "I didn't smoke anything."

"I don't care if you did," Logan said easily. "And you wouldn't have to if it was that thick." He smirked to himself, still working on getting out of his boots himself. "I'm told a contact buzz is a real pain in the ass."

Scott gave him a dry look, but he was still clearly in a good mood. "I'm gonna clean up before I go to bed," he said, slipping past Logan quickly. "Any trouble at the bar?"

"Nope," Logan replied, though after he said it, he was frowning to himself. His bluff about the police had paid off. No way those guys wanted state cops involved over the locals - which was probably the only reason it had worked, but still. It was getting complicated, and he knew he'd have to tell the kid that the time to move on was a lot closer than he'd like to admit.

* * *

Monday came around, and Scott was in high spirits headed to school. Farrah was waiting for him outside of the school, and the two of them headed into the building together hand in hand.

It was easy, and relaxed, and they didn't even discuss it before falling into step together, but that was the easiest part of the whole thing because after the day was over and the two of them walked down to the coffee shop, things started to get more … interesting.

It was clear that something was up - though Scott had no idea what as Farrah kept smiling his way while he was helping Bridget - who was asking both of them how the concert went with a knowing smile and an insistent "Yeah … but  _then what_?" that had both teenagers blushing.

"Oh, my God, you're like the world's worst adult," Farrah said with an exasperated laugh.

"No … I am like the world's most realistic adult," Bridget argued, wrinkling up her nose. "Shows what you know." She leaned over the counter, her arms crossed under her. "And you are so holding back."

Farrah blushed bright red and Scott couldn't help but smile to himself as he tried to ignore the both of them as he worked. Of course, he should have known that wasn't going to work to his benefit when very suddenly, Bridget snatched the hand towel out of his grasp and started to push him toward the end of the counter. "Go. Smooch your sweetie."

Which only got him blushing a little bit himself. But he also wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, particularly when Bridget sang out 'break-time!' and went about her business in the back of the cafe, leaving the two teenagers some privacy.

He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment and thought about apologizing for Bridget, but he knew she wasn't sorry about it and wasn't going to  _stop_ either, so he just sort of wordlessly shrugged and realized he didn't actually have anything to say before he kissed Farrah - he wasn't stupid enough to let the opportunity pass him up.

Farrah looked totally nervous for a long moment before she drew in a deep breath and met his gaze. "So I have some  _news_ ," she said in a measured tone that had Scott wondering exactly what was up. "I found out last week that my dad is getting transferred for his job - it wasn't totally a solid for sure 100% thing … but now it is." Her smile had slipped entirely and she just looked apologetic.

"When … when are you moving?" he asked, though truth be told, he was somewhat relieved to hear that he wasn't going to be the one to have to break up … whatever it was that was going on between the two of them.

She almost grimaced and pulled a face. "By the end of the month, probably," she said, outright looking down over it. "Which totally sucks because well …" she leaned forward. "It took way too long to get to kissing, okay? And I kind of  _really_  liked that part of things."

He shrugged, and though his smile had slipped a little, it wasn't gone either. "Me too," he said with a crooked sort of smirk. "But I understand. My dad and I move a lot, so it's … I guess it's just a hazard."

"You're like …" she let out a sigh and couldn't help but scoot a little closer to kiss his cheek. "You're really, really sweet. I was expecting you go get mad since … you know."

"You can't help it that your parents are moving," Scott said with a little frown.

"I still want to spend like … as much time as we can after school and stuff," she said.

"How about Friday night?" Scott blurted out. "We could go out to dinner, you know … movie. That kind of thing."

She grinned at him, positively delighted as she squeezed his arm and leaned into him. "Are you asking me out on a  _date_ , Scott?"

He couldn't help but smile a little wider. "Yeah. I am."

"Then yes, that sounds wonderful," she said grinning happily to herself as she went back to her frozen-grasshopper drink.

He was still smiling to himself when movement down the road caught his attention, and he looked up to see a pair of black SUV's coming down the road - out of the north, and he felt himself pause as his heart raced. He knew what to look for, and this … this was so very not good.

He gave Farrah a little smile and got up - to make himself a drink, he'd said - though he was headed to the phone to try and give Logan a head's up as to what he'd seen when he noticed that Bridget was nowhere in the back. At all.

He frowned at that, though he was sure to make his phone call as he peeked around the back - and he managed to tell Logan what he'd seen - only to hear 'Got it. Don't sweat it yet,' from his adoptive father before he hung up the phone and started looking more purposefully for Bridget.

He was just about to open the door that led to the stairwell when Farrah called out to him. "What are you doing back there?"

"Ah," Scott said, turning his head toward Farrah's voice. "I had to make a call. Did you need another mostly ice-cream coffee thing?" he teased, getting a laugh out of her as he began almost obsessively staring down the road looking for more black cars.

It wasn't too long though before Bridget returned from the back as if nothing at all was amiss, quietly humming to herself as she started washing up the last of the stainless steel carafes. "Are you onto your namesake yet, Caramel Mocha?" She gave them a little smirk, looking as if she hadn't simply disappeared for the last fifteen or twenty minutes anyhow.

He didn't really respond other than to lift his glass - which got a pleased sort of smile from her as the teenagers went to their plotting and planning - most of it being Farrah asking him where they were going for their  _date_  and grinning at him shamelessly until the familiar honk came from outside as her sister pulled up at the curb.

"That's me," she said before she turned and gave him another, slightly longer kiss than before. "See you tomorrow."

Scott couldn't help but grin after her. "See you then!" he called out to her, though it wasn't long after Farrah had left that he couldn't ignore what had happened with Bridget anymore and turned her way. "Twenty minutes, huh?"

She shrugged lightly. "Never know. Young love and all that …" she paused and frowned his way. "Really? Twenty minutes?"

"Yeah." He paused and then shot her another glance. "I had to make a call and didn't see you. I mean, I appreciate the space, but I swear I don't need that much."

"I just stepped out the back door," she said. "I figured you had it all handled, but if you think you need more supervision …"

Scott let out a breath, knowing that if she wasn't lying then he'd sound paranoid or worse if he tried to push it - and if the timing of her disappearance was more than that, she wouldn't tell him anyway. "No, I just - surprised me, that's all," he said.

"Sorry," she said, crossing her arms and leaning on the counter so she was facing him. "I'll warn you next time. That was on me." She gave him a little smile. "But … Saturday morning - are you free?"

"To work - or are you asking me out too, because I'm pretty sure Farrah would have something to say about that," Scott said before he'd thought about it fully.

She couldn't help but grin his way. "As irresistible as those brown eyes are, you're a little young for my tastes," she laughed. "To  _work_ , of course."

He had to pause and think about it. "Let me ask my dad," he said at last. "He might already have some plans."

"Sure thing," she agreed. "If you need a ride, I can swing by, but it's going to be kind of busy since this is the start of the tourist season? They come out to look at the trilliums in the forests, so there will be more people around."

Scott nodded. "I'll try to help out as much as I can," he said, though he did feel bad thinking he was about to leave if things got busy.

She gave him a warm smile. "Perfect." She pushed a business card with a different number written on the back across the counter. "Give me a call or have your dad let me know how early is too early."

Scott raised his eyebrows but pocketed the card. "Thanks," he said.

She shook her head. "That's really just if you can't catch me at the shop," she said, shaking her head. "I really would like to know as soon as you can tell me - so you know I'm closing up here at five - call me later and let me know, okay?" She gave him a little look and picked up her towel to head back into the backroom, this time singing to herself so he knew exactly where she was.

Logan came shortly after Scott had finished sweeping up and had flipped the closed sign around so it was displayed prominently in the window. Most of the lights in the cafe itself were off, except for a few in the back room - though Logan frowned when he watched the woman in the shop give Scott a little wave - the backlight a little too strong to actually see what she looked like before she turned and stepped into the back room.

"You alright?" Logan asked as Scott pulled the door shut behind him.

"Yeah. Fine. I just … I saw those SUV's and … figured I better let you know."

"I looked into it," Logan said. "They never came down our road."

"That … really doesn't instill me with confidence," Scott said dryly, and Logan couldn't help but let out a weary sort of sighing laugh.

"Yeah. I hear you. They're getting close," Logan agreed. "And if it's not them, it's SHIELD - and either way, that just mean trouble's coming."

"So … when do we leave?" Scott asked, already steeling himself to break his date and run, though he wasn't exactly expecting Logan's response.

"Maybe next week," he said. "I got something I want to do - and I've got a few things set up to tip us off if they try to make a move."

"What kind of things?"

"Tripwires and traps," Logan said easily. "Nothing fatal, but ... "

Scott nodded and stared out of his window for a long moment. "So. Should I tell my boss that I'm out for working the weekend?"

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "Keep it as close to normal as you can. We'll make it a clean break - but the cafe and the bar both are going to just have to deal with it. Can't afford to warn them."

He nodded to himself, already deciding on the spot that contacting Farrah was going to be troublesome. But she'd told him where they were planning to move, so … he was pretty sure he could figure out how to get her address whenever they settled in somewhere new themselves. "Are we going back to New York?"

"I doubt it," Logan said. "That's a long run - and a straight shot no matter how you look at it. They already know we've got contacts there. No," he shook his head again. "We'll go somewhere outside of my normal checklist this time."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "No forests?"

"No," Logan agreed, though it was clear that even with just the short response that he wasn't overly thrilled by the idea of no north woods. It was really where Scott was most comfortable himself, but he could understand Logan's reluctance, all things considered.

He let out a little sigh and sat back a little more in his seat. "I'll call her and let her know."

Logan raised an eyebrow and turned toward Scott for a moment. "Got two girls after you?"

Scott gave him an even drier look than usual. "No. I mean I'll call my boss and let her know I can work Saturday morning. She said she could give me a ride if I needed it."

Logan shook his head at that though. "Nah. Just tell 'er I'll bring you in. I'm gonna be out later'n usual, so I'll be up still."

Scott watched him for a moment. "And you're sure that it's alright …" It was clear already that Scott wasn't sure that it was a good idea if Logan was running that hard, but before he could get further, Logan let out an almost irritated sounding noise.

"If I need to get us outta here, I'll come find you if you're working. You see the jeep- head out fast. Otherwise - do what you usually do, though I wouldn't worry too much about gettin' your homework done."

Scott rolled his eyes at that, but couldn't help but smirk since that just meant he still had a green light to have his after school study sessions. And … the date. Of course … "I have a date Friday night," he said, testing the waters a little bit. "Should I cancel it?"

"Hell no." Logan's response was lightning quick and left no room for doubt. "I won't be around anyhow. Have fun while you can. It'll be a little while before we get settled in again."


	33. Take Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I which all the things our heroes have tried to avoid ... happens anyhow.

The rest of the week ran fairly easy - and though Scott was on edge watching over his shoulder as casually as he could, he was still getting his normal schedule handled perfectly fine. It seemed like the less time he had with Farrah, the more he was hoping for time to slow down, and as expected, that really just seemed to feel like the clock was racing forward.

On the other end of the spectrum though, Logan was getting more and more keyed up and ready to fight. The altercations with the idiots at the bar had backed off again, but he'd noticed the creeps following at what they probably thought was a sneaky distance. They stopped trying to start a fight, but it was clear they were trying to figure out what Logan's regular routine was, which was enough to really piss him off, and instead of picking up Scott, Logan weighed it out and took a deep draw off of his cigarette before he headed back to the cabin an hour before Scott got out of his job.

When he got there, he paused for only a couple of minutes before he made the call to the cafe. "If you can get a ride, that might be smart," Logan said to him when he got on the line. "Otherwise, we're not sticking around. I have some jackasses following me around, and I don't want them dragging you into it."

Scott frowned, and looked across the counter to Bridget, unsure how to phrase things when people were around to listen in. "You're sure it's not the other thing?"

"Oh yeah," Logan said. "But that doesn't mean that they won't do anything abnormally stupid."

He thought about it for just a moment before he looked over to Bridget again. "I'll call you back if I can't figure it out."

"I'll be here."

Scott hung up the phone and turned to look at both Bridget and Farrah. "That's kind of new, isn't it?" Farrah asked. "I don't think he's ever called you, has he?"

"Ah … no, he hasn't," Scott admitted, his hand resting on the back of his neck. "I … I guess I gotta find my own ride home tonight."

Bridget frowned and glanced up at him. "Why's that?" she asked.

"Car trouble," Scott blurted out, not even having thought of something more eloquent.

She frowned at him, one hand on her hip as she looked him up and down with her eyes narrowed. "Hmmm."

"Does that mean our date is off tomorrow?" Farrah asked, finally piping up from the other side of the counter.

"No," Scott said quickly, then thought better of it. "Well … I don't think so." Again, he looked wary to answer wrong.

Bridget looked between them for a long moment and let out her breath. "I'll give you a ride," she said finally. "And if you need a ride after your date, I can stick around town a little while if you two  _really need it._ "

Before Scott could object, Farrah answered for him. "Awesome! Thank you!" When Scott turned her way, she didn't even try to hold back the grin. "Hey. I'm not going to be around a lot longer. I'll take whatever solutions I can get if they're reasonable."

So for the first time, after the cafe was closed up for the evening, Bridget and Scott locked up together and stepped out of the building into the alley. He looked up and down both ways, frowning to himself when he saw a familiar old pickup truck with a cap and a little VW bug. As Bridget turned the deadbolt on the door, he moved to take a step toward the bug until she stopped him.

"Where are you going?" she asked, putting the shop keys in her coat pocket. "I'm the other way." She seemed to be almost holding her breath as she took a few backward steps toward the old truck, her hands in her pockets.

He watched as she pulled the driver's side door open and then leaned over to unlock the passenger side, clearly waiting for his reaction as he climbed into the truck. As soon as the door was closed, she fired up the engine and bit her lip as she glanced over at him. "Buckle up," she said, then put the truck into gear, pointedly not looking his way anymore as they rumbled to the end of the alley.

He stared for just a moment when the truck stopped and frowned a little to himself when he saw how well hidden the alley was compared to the city streets. "This used to be where the cops parked for a speed trap," Bridget said when she realized that he was taking in the way that the truck was blocked from view. "Great to watch the road - but you have to be really careful to make sure the path is clear before you go. No one ever sees you." She glanced at him slightly then turned onto the road.

The ride to the cabins was quiet, and Bridget didn't try to even make conversation, which was unusual enough on its own since she always seemed to be in the right frame of mind to pick on him. But as they finally turned into the drive and the first splash of water hit the tires, she spoke up. "I'm sure you have questions. But not tonight, okay? When things quiet down Saturday morning, I'll answer whatever you might have to ask, alright?" She turned his way for a little smirk and simply pulled into her normal parking spot. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he said simply.

She turned off the engine and gave him a little look. "Please don't lie to me." She let out a breath and leaned back, keys in her hand. "Everyone who has ever come to stay at this place does so because they don't want to be near a bunch of other people. I get it. And Bill is very picky about who he rents to, so ... " she offered him her hand. "Here's to being quiet neighbors."

Scott stared at her hand for a moment before he took it and nodded. "Nice to meet you, neighbor."

"See you tomorrow," Bridget said as she opened the door and stepped out. "I really should have told you this was my hide out sooner. It's just hard to trust people, you know?" She shrugged a little and walked backward a few paces before she turned and headed into the cabin.

Scott took just a moment to look around before he started to walk, realizing very quickly that Bridget had the best spot in the place for keeping a clear view on what was happening, though he simply put his hands in his pockets and walked over to the cabin he and Logan had, still frowning when he closed the door behind himself.

Logan frowned his way and tipped his chin up toward the door in silent question before Scott had to let out a little laugh.

"Ah - my boss is our neighbor?" he said, still looking a little confused over it.

"You didn't know that before?"

"She … has been parking behind the building at work," he said. "And - have you ever spotted her?"

Logan frowned and held his gaze for a long moment. "I've seen there was a girl that lives there once or twice, but not her face." He looked thoughtful for a long moment before Scott broke into his thoughts.

"She said she'd answer my questions on Saturday at work," he said. "So … I'll find out what the story is."

And before he knew what was happening, Logan pulled up a chair and the two of them started talking - with Logan telling him what to look for - listen for - and ask to find out if this woman was a problem or not, though Logan was clearly fighting the urge to go in on Saturday and do the question and answer session himself.

But the more Logan thought about it, the more it irritated him. He'd seen a woman coming and going from time to time - not much, just in passing, almost like clockwork, and almost every single time he saw her - it was one of those barely done things - where it was almost as if she'd blocked herself from being seen. Constantly.

It was irritating - moreso now that he knew that this was Scott's boss.

He could only think of one or two reasons why this woman would insist on keeping her identity from him - and even fewer reasons as to why she'd only  _now_ bother to tell Scott when the people from the Department were getting closer to being on the right trail. He thought about it for a long while before he decided that he couldn't wait for Saturday.

He snubbed out his cigarette and got up while Scott was still in the shower, only to head across the way and knock on the woman's door. No reason to drag it out. He'd find out fast what her story was.

But she didn't answer the door. Not that he was surprised in the least about that. He tried a few more times, only letting it go when he closed his eyes and tipped his head toward the door … and heard the sound of cascading water and humming. "Figures," he grumbled to himself as he frowned at the door. "Just my flamin' luck."

He considered waiting her out, but the last time he'd waited on a woman to finish up in a shower was a lot more fun than standing around outside, so instead he swore to himself and decided to give it a couple hours.

Of course, that plan was snuffed out too. He'd waited - and the two bachelors had finished their dinner and cleaned up when Logan stood up and paused halfway across the living room when the lights in the little cabin across the way simply snapped off. This was not working out how he'd planned. But … while Scott took his turn at the dishes, Logan stepped outside to try again.

He knocked and waited before knocking again … and he was getting pretty irritated by the time she finally cracked the door open - though he could only see a sliver of her face.

"I was just going to bed," she said, peeking over at him. "Is the place on fire?"

"No," Logan said as she stepped back and started to close the door.

"Well as charming as I'm sure you are? I'm dressed for bed. If you want to chit chat - come back at an earlier hour next time."

"I have to be at work by the time you get here," he said, shaking his head since he was sure that she knew when he was coming and going just as much as he knew her schedule.

"Sunday then," she said with a yawn. "Honestly, Scott has my number. Feel free to use it so I don't have to answer the door in my robe the next time you want to introduce yourself." With that, she closed the door in his face and called through from the other side.

* * *

School was dragging slowly, and Scott was anxious to get to work, hoping to get a few questions in  _before_ the date since that had kept him up part of the night after Bridget had given him a ride home.

But of course, there was a massive after school rush that came with the warmer weather - and seeing as it was Friday, it was a lot busier than Scott was hoping to see and he and Bridget were hopping through most of the shift.

So by the time they were cleaning up after the rush, it was time for Scott to wash up before his date. "You guys go have fun," Bridget said. "I'll leave the backdoor open. I'll be upstairs. Just knock the ol' 'shave and a haircut' when you're done with your movie and I'll give you two rides home."

She shooed him out, promising to handle closing up shop on her own, and when Scott finally stepped out into the street, Farrah was waiting near the streetlight with a bright smile. "Are you ready for more than caffeine?"

Scott couldn't help but smile at that, and the two of them headed out, arm in arm to have their dinner in peace.

* * *

And while Scott was out on his very first real date, Logan was getting more tense.

He'd made sure to spend his time while Scott was in school mailing out tip offs to all the right agencies - with full surveillance on all of the interested parties in the drug runner's group - including every cop that had contact with them in the time that Logan had been observing. No reason not to make sure they got what was coming to them on his way out.

But for the first time in weeks, the drug dealers were nowhere to be seen at the bar, even though it was still the top place for the women of the area to go to - and even though there had been a lot of drugs slipped into the business, the women had taken his advice to heart. They were guarding their drinks - and refusing to take drinks from anyone that they weren't out with that night - which had cut down considerably on the rate of date rapes happening in the area.

It was clear though that the dealers were holding him responsible - and while he took no issue with that - the fact that they'd suddenly disappeared from the scene entirely was questionable at best. Worrisome at worst. Unfortunately, there wasn't a thing he could do about it while he was on shift.

Even without the druggies, there were still conflicts at the bar with the lumberjacks that went there to relax, and even a few fights between the women who had picked out their prospective dates - and took personal insult if they didn't get what they wanted. He snuffed out his cigarette and kicked away from the front door since everything was fairly quiet.

* * *

The dinner had been typical of a teenage date out - pizza and soda, lots of joking around, smiling and general hand holding that shifted gently when the two of them headed off to see a thriller that Farrah had wanted to catch. Which was probably not the best of film choices considering Scott's frame of mind - but … he was willing to overlook it considering that there were several parts of the movie that had Farrah outright jumping and grabbing at his arm.

The two of them left the theater, with Farrah holding onto his arm, and Scott smiling to himself as they slowly made their way toward the cafe. Of course, they stopped at the park before they turned the corner, and when they did, Scott took a chance and pulled her over to steal a kiss. Not that Farrah was going to complain at all. Though after their quiet little makeout session was over, and both of them were grinning, she took his hand and let him lead her toward the cafe.

Nothing was really said, since she'd made it clear that her time was short, and Scott knew that even if they could have stayed, he and Logan would be long gone before much more time had passed.

Bridget was waiting patiently at the cafe when they knocked, and she simply stepped outside with a little smile, and tossed Scott the keys to the truck while she locked up. "You two have fun?" she asked, and while Scott nodded with a grin, Farrah simply turned red and let her eyes widen.

"So much fun," she said just before she climbed into the truck, and when Scott followed her, she was quick to steal a kiss when he closed the door. "I already hate that we're moving."

He couldn't help but smile at her and shake his head. "Don't be," he said. "I'm sure my Dad and I will be headed out before you know it. Time for a change."

She smiled and shook her head at him. "You're very sweet to say so," she said, nodding to herself before she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I expect you to write."

"Absolutely," he agreed, though he already had no idea how to deal with a return address. Maybe just one way letters would be the way to go ...

Bridget joined the two of them and didn't say a word as she put the car into drive and took Farrah's directions to drop her off, slowing down considerably to give the curly haired teen a chance to steal one more kiss before the night was out.

Scott waved as Farrah grinned and walked backwards up the walk to her house, watching her go until the door closed - and only then did Bridget fire the truck up again and quietly put it into gear. He was riding a high, and he was feeling good when they got back onto the highway that led out of town.

"Tomorrow, right?" he asked when the silence stretched on in the truck.

"Tomorrow," Bridget promised.

Scott let out a breath and nodded his head. It was going to be an early morning wake up call. Again, Bridget parked in her usual spot and headed in with just a wave Scott's way, and he was feeling pretty good about the way the date had ended. But … it seemed overly quiet, and when he got into the cabin, it was clear that Logan had spent some time earlier shipping out everything that wasn't essential. The files that they had were gone - and that was the most striking thing, though he didn't miss that there was a duffel bag at the foot of the stairs that clearly was full of Logan's clothes.

He pulled the door closed behind him and went to close the drapes, taking a moment to glance across the way in time to see Bridget's lights go out. He crossed the room to the kitchen, where he found a note from Logan, as expected.  _Be back around two. Your bag is on your bed. Time to pack up._

Scott blew his breath out and locked his jaw. He wasn't sure if this was a first thing in the morning affair or a as soon as Logan got back thing, so he didn't waste any time in heading to his room to do exactly that - though he made sure to pack his clothes in a little thoughtful manner now that he knew he had to do it.

He didn't have a lot, but what he had, he didn't see any reason to make life harder over. He spent a little time rolling the clothes up so they took up less space, even going so far as to pair up things so that if he needed a change of clothes, he could simply grab a rolled up bit of fabric and have an entire change ready to go. It took a little more time, but … he wasn't going to be able to sleep.

Not knowing that it was time to go - and not with the slowly building headache that he was sure had more to do with the stress and uncertainty than anything else. As soon as he was done packing up, he took his bad downstairs and set it next to Logan's then headed to the kitchen to brew up a pot of coffee. If he was going to be awake, there was no reason for him not to be alert.

He sat there in the mostly dark kitchen, thinking about how this run had lasted - and how solid it had been. There really was less trouble here, comparatively, anyhow. And the girls were nicer. He smiled to himself a little bit and tried to stay awake

It wasn't long though before Scott found himself curled up on the couch and losing the battle to stay awake in spite of his very best efforts.

He had no idea how long he'd been asleep when he heard a metallic  _snap_  and when he opened his eyes, it was to find the living room full of black clad soldiers with rifles pointed his way. All of them had their faces covered, and before he could even react, one of them spoke up.

"Scream and you're dead," he said at a low rasp before a different soldier prodded him in the side of the head with the end of his rifle. "Get up. Don't fight."

Scott hastily obeyed, his hands up as the soldiers directed until he was on his feet, and before he could even think about how to handle it, they yanked on him hard and bound his hands behind his back. He was trying hard not to panic, but it was right there on the edge … and he couldn't force it down. His heart was pounding in his chest, and as soon as his hands were secured, one of the soldiers shoved a rag in his mouth and gagged him.

"How about we go wait for your friend outside so we can see him coming?" the soldier that was clearly in charge said as he grabbed a hold of Scott's arm and yanked on him to drag him along. Scott stumbled as he tried to keep up with the taller man's strides - made that much more difficult by the fact that he was bound and gagged. He'd never realized how hard it was to breathe properly when he was in a panic until he couldn't.

It was freezing cold outside - that or it just felt that way in the late spring air when Scott didn't have an over shirt on. Or shoes. He shivered in the cold fog watching wide-eyed as the forest fell silent around them. Nothing was moving. Nothing was making any noise - and as Scott looked down one way and then the other, he realized how many soldiers had to be hidden in the woods around them - all of them with rifles at the ready.

His heart sunk. There was simply no way that they'd be able to get out of this, and what's more, he couldn't reach the panic button in his front pocket that Captain America had given him. Scott watched in horror as the familiar sound of the Jeep made its way down the drive.

Time seemed to still for Scott, and it felt as if every single sound was amplified until the erratic pounding in his ears overpowered everything else, and he unconsciously started to shake his head 'no'.

The jeep pulled into the usual spot, and after a short moment, Logan stepped out,. When he did finally exit the vehicle, he closed the door quietly behind himself and seemed to take his time looking around the dark group of cabins.

He stood there for a long moment, and it was apparent to Scott very quickly that Logan  _knew_ something was wrong. He was  _still_ and the forest was silent, and when Logan tipped his chin up, Scott could almost see the expression on his face as he scented out the air - then very suddenly turned only his head to look over his left shoulder into the pitch blackness.

There was just a moment of the most horrible tension before laser sights started to flicker on from all directions around him- their red beams cutting through the dark and the fog and massing over Logan's vitals and joints.

Logan stopped and looked down at himself just as the man holding Scott called out to him. "Get into the clearing, Weapon X. Hands up. We've got the boy."

For a moment, Scott wasn't sure what was going to happen. He could see a few options. Flat denial for one. Logan could always fight. He could turn it around on them somehow … but … Scott couldn't see how when he had no idea the numbers hidden and heavily armed in the woods. He locked his jaw and braced himself, ready for when Logan did something wild that would scare back some of these soldiers … Any second …

"I wanna see him first," Logan called back, and with a hard jostle, the man holding Scott's arm pulled him nearly off his feet as he brought him Scott out onto the flatter section of the drive and shone a light in his face, revealing that Scott was gagged, but alive. Logan visibly paused, his gaze locked onto Scott for a long moment before he slowly put his hands up and took a few metered, easy steps onto the gravel road.

Scott stared at him, still hoping that some kind of miracle would happen and that Logan would pull a hat trick and clear the soldiers out en masse. That's what had happened before, right? He … he knew how to do this. This … this was what they trained him for …

Logan took his time, moving purposefully with each step all while the rifles trained on him followed him every microstep of the way. He barely got to the most open part of the gravel drive before the soldier called out to Logan again, his voice impossibly loud in Scott's ear, even though he was no longer shouting. "You know the protocol."

With his hands easily visible, Logan slowly went down to his knees there in the middle of the road, hands at head level - and before he'd been there more than a few seconds, the soldiers in the trees all began to rush forward.

Scott managed to let out a noise as he tried to shout 'no', but the gag made sure that it was muffled down to little more than incoherent noise. He tried to meet Logan's gaze, but it didn't take long at all for him to realize that Logan was making it a point  _not_ to look at Scott as the soldiers tightened their circle.

The soldiers all stopped a reasonable distance out and Scott couldn't figure out for the life of him  _why_ until Logan closed his eyes tightly and almost flinched a moment before the group of soldiers simply opened fire on him from all directions.

Scott could barely see what was happening in the blazing muzzle flashes, though he knew without getting the full color picture, and he let out an anguished shout through the gag, panicking solidly even as the gunfire continued.

Scott had fallen to the ground - totally devastated by the time the man in charge called for a cease fire, though his head was pounding. He closed his eyes tightly, bent over nearly in half as his head felt like it would split in two - only made worse when the soldier designated to check out Logan called back that there was no pulse, and the circle of them simply began to tighten up further around his guardian's still and broken body - with rifles still raised. It was as if they were just waiting for a reason to continue shooting.

But that really only made it that much easier when Scott looked up at the bloody scene and the red tinge started to glow in the very centers of his eyes - about half a second before the sharp, almost electrical sounding  _kzapt!_ Echoed the trees - blasting soldiers clear off their feet and worse. Trees were snapped in half or looked like they'd been cut anywhere Scott had been looking, and before the man next to him had a chance to realize what was going on, Scott blinked and turned his gaze to the leader. His face contorted - expressing his anguish before the glow once again turned into something more substantial - and blasted the guy several cottages down from where he was on the ground - though Scott remained bound with his hands still behind his back.

The soldiers were trying to regroup, shouting orders at him that didn't make much sense as he closed his eyes and his head  _really_ felt like it was going to split in half. The shouts came from all around in the woods, and though he couldn't hear the orders, he could understand the tone - pure, unfiltered panic. But that didn't make sense … he was shot. He had no more to give - and if grown, trained men couldn't see that the teenager was totally wiped out as he was crumpled on the wet ground, then they really weren't paying any attention at all.

Scott turned just in time to see someone drop one of the soldiers - though he couldn't see who it was - only a blur as they darted on toward the next person - and that soldier turned with his rifle raised only to crumple as the shadow passed him.

Scott was suddenly more terrified again … there was another player in the game and here he was … helpless and restrained while Logan laid in the dirt unmoving. He was overcome with the injustice and terror of it all and he felt his shoulders slump forward leaving Scott feeling more alone now than when he'd been told his parents were dead and his brother had a new family.

He'd managed to get a family of his own … something that was near impossible for a boy his age ...and now? Now once again he was mercilessly alone in the world - where there was a secret government group that had orphaned him and a mystery murdering ninja cutting them down too. He could barely tear his gaze from Logan's bloody form, and he had no idea what was coming next, though he found himself barely holding it together as he repeated 'please don't die' over and over in his head, though it seemed more and more like a childish wish the more the phrase repeated. Bent over, his forehead was nearly touching the ground when someone came up behind him and a familiar  _snikt!_ Reached his ears and his hands were free.

When he looked up to see who it was, Bridget tossed him her keys. "Go get the truck. Bring it to your dad - we're getting out of here."

He blinked at her for a few moments until he realized that she was headed right for Logan - and also that the entire area was dead silent once again.

Scott stumbled to his feet and ran, tearing the gag off and throwing it to the side. By the time he got to the truck, his hands were shaking and he was sure he was going into shock. He managed to get the key into the ignition and a short moment later, he had headed toward where Bridget was kneeled next to Logan trying to patch him up enough to move him.

He threw the truck in park and rushed out, still obviously shaken but desperately wanting to do  _something._  She barely glanced up at him as she worked - her hands flying over Logan's body and tying fabric here and there as she worked. "If you have any clothes that are easy to grab-"

"On it," Scott said, flat out running for the cabin to grab the duffel bags near the bottom of the stairs. He shouldered both of them in time to see Bridget half in the back of the truck and pulling a tarp out.

She rushed over to where Logan was still laid out and bleeding and tossed the tarp to Scott. "I'm going to tip him up - get ready to spread that out," she directed. He stood there waiting - with dozens of questions starting to form in his mind - but none of them well developed enough to come out as she manhandled Logan enough to manipulate him onto the heavy tarp.

She was already out of breath as she looked around the group of soldiers and then leaned partway to the side to watch as the tall manager of the cabins came rushing their way.

"You haven't got too much time," he told her as the two of them fell into step, working to pick Logan up and move him into the back of the truck. "The radio they were carryin' made it sound like round two is on the way. You got maybe half an hour. Tops."

Bridget nodded as she and the manager finally got Logan - in the tarp - into the back of the truck far enough that they could close the tailgate - and before the cap was closed, Bridget climbed in along with him.

"Caramel Mocha - I need you to drive. Throw your duffel bags in the passenger seat. Pick a direction that isn't north and just go," she said as the tall man that had helped her handed her a pretty hefty looking first aid kit.

He stared at her wordlessly until she snapped her fingers his way. "We have to  _go._ Come on - I'll take care of him for you."

"He …"

" _Please_ , Scott," she said as she gave him a pleading look. "You can do this."

Hearing her use his real name was so out of character for what he was used to that he simply didn't argue any further. He rushed to the cab of the truck and the manager closed and latched the cap with Bridget in the back as she gave the man a serious smile. "Thanks, Bill."

Scott didn't wait any longer - particularly when the manager came up to the cab and handed him a handful of cash and patted him on the shoulder hard. "Go on, get outta here, son."

With a shaky breath, Scott started the truck and put it into gear - carefully heading down the road as if nothing was amiss. He paused only a moment at the road, his heart hammering in his chest before he held his breath and turned away from town and almost directly south-east.

He drove for what felt like a long time before he adjusted the mirror to see what was going on in the bed of the truck. It didn't miss his notice that technically, it was Saturday. And she  _had_ promised to explain everything on Saturday. This was just not at all what he was expecting she'd have to explain.

It was hard to see her working in the dark - but now and again, he'd see her head moving in the darkness as she hovered over where he knew Logan was laid out. He was anxious and not at all sure of what she was up to, and he very nearly startled when she moved toward the front of the bed of the truck and opened up the cap window - then tapped on the glass sliding window behind him for him to slide it open. "He's doing better already," she promised. "Which way are we going?"

"South by south east," he answered, and she nodded and tried to give him a little smile.

"Alright. I promise you, Scott - I'm not going to let him die on you tonight."

"Tonight."

"Hey," she said, meeting his gaze in the mirror. "If he can get through tonight, he'll be right as rain." He held her gaze for as long as he thought was safe, though it did nothing for his constitution when he realized that she had a bit of blood smeared on her cheekbone.

"It's Saturday," Scott said flatly.

And for the first time all night, she flashed him a tiny smile. "Yes it is. And I will explain anything you need explained when we're safe." She said it as she backed away from the window, stringing something out between her hands - though it didn't take long for him to realize that it was a rope.

"What are you-"

"Don't worry," she said, trying to sound as off the cuff as possible. "I'm just going to try to keep him from hurting me when he wakes up in pain all shot to hell like this."

With a quick glance of how she was positioned and working, it was plainly clear that she was tying Logan up. "Why would he wake up in pain?" Scott asked, frowning at her though he was still trying to drive properly.

"Mostly because I'm digging the bullets out," she replied as she finished her last knot and climbed over the top of her patient.

Scott was torn between driving - and paying attention to what this woman was doing … and his concern only deepened when he started to hear the tiny clangs - one after another as lead and copper slugs began hitting the bed of the truck with just about every movement the woman made - and she was moving swiftly.

But the bullets weren't all timed with her movements, and it didn't take Scott long to realize that some of them were probably pushing themselves out of his body - and it hit him suddenly that she was only digging out the more stubborn ones. Which meant …

Just as Scott found the words that he needed to use to warn her, Logan did indeed wake up in pain. His eyes popped open with a scream as Bridget managed to remove one particularly nasty slug that had lodged itself between his ribs.

Before Scott could speak -  _between_ the terrifying screams and the hushed whispers as Bridget tried to get Logan to calm down, he heard her at least  _try_ to explain to Logan what she was doing - in a very soft and comforting tone. "I'm not trying to hurt you," she said. "And I am so sorry, but they need to come out."

She had tried - and she'd tried hard, but that didn't make it any less horrible as she attempted to not wriggle her fingers too much in his side. But for the level of pain he was in, it just wasn't enough, and a moment later, he'd popped his claws with a snarl, cut through the ropes she'd bound him with, and flipped positions with her with a heavy  _thump._

Logan had a hold of both of her wrists in one hand and she was soundly pinned to the bed of the truck as a low, warning growl echoed the small space and a fist full of claws pressed into her throat.

The pretty little brunette went entirely limp, and instead of fighting him or arguing, she tipped her chin up, exposing her neck further, the action in itself allowing the tips of one claw to pierce the skin - but only just. "Go ahead if it'll make you feel better," she said evenly - and just quiet enough for Scott to catch it, though that was not her intention.

It was just wild enough of a move that Logan started to blink his way out of the red-hot haze when her next words totally set him back. "You need to know though- you're the one that busted yourself - and me - out to them."

He coughed lightly and blinked harder, pulling back slightly as if she'd hit him. "I didn't -"

"You were the one pulling in all that attention pissing off those idiot drug dealers. You know. The ones that were tied in with the local five-o. You  _absolutely_ did."

He stared at her for a minute before he retracted his claws. "That -"

"You  _knew_ you were busted weeks ago," she continued, finally meeting his gaze. "And if you didn't, then you're a total idiot."

Logan stared at her at a loss on how to respond when Scott broke in from the cab "How does she know that? Did you … Logan did you know you were busted  _that long ago_? Why didn't you tell me? I thought it was a soft thing."

Logan glared at her, though the little woman didn't add to his situation or tense up - still perfectly relaxed as she raised an eyebrow his way. "That …" Logan let out a breath and found he couldn't drag up a solid argument. He knew he was busted one way or another, and though he didn't want to lie to Scott - he didn't really want to lose face with this …  _person_ either.

Try as he might, there was no way to tell the truth and save face with both of them at once. Not that she made it any easier on him.

The woman narrowed her eyes when she saw how he was hesitating. "Don't  _lie_ to my sweet Caramel Mocha, dumbass," Bridget hissed almost under her breath, and that was enough to tip the scales.

He growled lower and leaned in until he was inches from her nose. "He's  _my boy_ , lady. And what the hell does this make you anyhow?"

"Better at flying under the radar, obviously," she deadpanned, still perfectly relaxed as he sat straddled on her waist with her wrists locked into one of his hands.

"It's a little different learning curve with a kid," he replied to her very low - so he was sure Scott couldn't hear him.

She tipped her head to the side and gave him a tight look. "This is the first time I've been anywhere near those people in five years," Bridget said. "Can you say the same from before you knew him?"

He held her gaze for a long time, but didn't say anything one way or another until he finally let her hands go, and then slid off of her to sit on the opposite side of the truck bed, watching her carefully.

But Bridget remained where she was, only watching him until he was obviously settled, then she quickly sat up and rushed over to open up a box behind the passenger side of the bed then simply started stripping off her bloodied clothes. "Drop the wasted duds," she said, tossing her ruined and bloodied clothes in the center of the tarp.

Logan watched her openly for a moment, not at all expecting her to do even half of what she had so far before he realized what she was up to and  _why_ she was stripping down in front of a strange man before he simply followed suit getting rid of what little remained of his bullet riddled attire.

When all the clothes that were wrecked were on the tarp, Bridget bundled it all up and shoved it into a heavy black plastic bag. She took a moment to use a wet towel to clean up any blood left over in the bed of the truck - and tossed one to Logan. "Clean up as much as you can." She was already working on her face to scrub off the dried blood - and when one cloth was wrecked, she tossed it in the garbage bag and got out another one, keeping Logan in good supply as well until they were both fairly presentable. From the same box, she took a few minutes to slip on clean clothes then gave Logan one last look before she shimmied through the windows into the cab.

"Which one of these is his?" Bridget asked before she dove into the bag Scott indicated and handed clean clothes through the window to Logan. "Next hidden roadside park that comes up - pull over so he can get out of the back."

Scott nodded, and kept his eyes forward as Bridget settled in with a heavy sigh. It wasn't long before Logan's face appeared in the windows between the cap and the cab, though he didn't say a word, instead watching their new travel companion for a long moment.

Finally, Logan cleared his throat a little and reached out to rest his hand on Scott's shoulder. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Scott said quietly, though he most certainly wasn't.

Bridget gave him a soft smile and reached over to squeeze his arm. "Once we get rid of the tarp, you can crash in the back if you want. I have a few sleeping bags that ought to make it so you can at least lay down and try to rest."

"Oh, alright," Scott said, though he wasn't sure that he'd be able to relax any time soon.

She watched him for a long moment, and tried to ignore the fact that Logan was watching her too. "After you rest, and we get some miles behind us, we can sit down and have that talk," Bridget said. "But I've got a few questions of my own now."

"Just now?" Logan challenged.

She turned a little further and held his gaze. " _Yeah_. Just now. I wasn't going to press until this one levelled that platoon on his own with a  _look_."

The mood in the cab was quiet, and the three of them simply kept quiet until Logan spotted a place that looked like a good area to deal with the tarp and bloodied clothes. "We'll have to be quick," he said, and for the first time, Bridget nodded, agreeing in an instant as Scott turned to make his way down the dark road.


	34. Hello, Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our intrepid heroes have managed to flee the scene of a terrible tree-murder (and okay, maybe a few other murders too, but they totally were asking for it. Not even sorry.)

While the contents of the tarp were burning into a slick ash, Bridget returned to the back of the truck, though Logan was positively locked onto her every move, and he was highly reluctant to let either she or Scott out of his line of sight. He was too keyed up. Too tired. Too … tense. And the first he'd seen of this woman face to face was while she was perched on top of him and digging out bullets.

He watched Scott for a little while, the boy was in turmoil - not that he was surprised, but for the time being, his concern was more firmly centered on the woman that had helped them. After she'd been in the back of the truck for awhile, he decided to investigate, only slightly surprised to find that she hadn't been idle, and the sleeping bags she had stashed in the bed of the truck were indeed rolled out and lying on top of a heavy piece of foam. She was getting it situated when she looked up and let out a breath.

"He needs to rest," she said in explanation as she finished laying out the bedroll. "You do too for that matter."

"I'll rest later," Logan replied, still watching her carefully. "Did you get hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," she swore, only glancing up at him for a moment before she turned to assess him better, frowned and then paused. He wasn't sure what she was holding back for until he watched her shimmy through the window into the cab of the truck again - and then shoved both of their bags into the bed.

She came back through the same way and for an instant, Logan wondered if there was a reason she was avoiding going past him. She took a moment to arrange the duffel bags on either side of the makeshift bed and paused again. "See if he'll listen to you," the little brunette said before she bit her lip and headed his way to slip out of the back of the truck, obliterating his concern about her trying to avoid him.

He reached a hand out to hold onto her arm - steadying her and keeping her from slipping on the wet bumper as she climbed over the tailgate, though he let go as soon as her feet were on solid ground again.

She let out a little sigh and gave him a forced smile before she headed over to the driver's side of the truck. "You're not driving until you're healed and rested right."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, no. I know better. You're ready to pass out, so if you're not going to sleep in the back, you can sleep in the cab. Besides. My truck, my rules," she said giving him a look before she climbed in and closed the door behind her, leaving Logan to talk to Scott.

Logan walked over to where the fire was dying out - nothing left anymore but a few deeply red embers in the remains of what was once a pile of bloodied clothes. He stood next to Scott wordlessly for a long moment before he finally tipped his head and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry you saw that," Logan said quietly. "And I know you've had a hard time, but we need to get moving."

Scott nodded blankly, though he knew Logan was right.

"She's got a place for you to stretch out and grab a few z's. I won't pick her brain too hard until we stop." He clapped a hand on Scott's shoulder and gave him a little squeeze, intending to direct him back to the truck, but as soon as Logan had his hand on him, Scott's shoulders suddenly dropped, and he let out a little breath and simply stepped into Logan the rest of the way, clutching onto him with both arms around Logan's shoulders, totally and openly upset for the first time that he had let Logan see.

"Hey," Logan said, though he returned the gesture, not even remotely willing to let the kid freak out if he could help it. "You alright? Did they hurt you?"

"No," Scott said dully.

Logan let his shoulders drop a little and he doubled down for a moment, sure that the kid had seen far too much, though he himself wasn't sure what had happened after the firing started - or before it started, for that matter. "We're gonna shake 'em, and I won't let them catch up again."

"Alright," Scott said, though he wasn't moving either.

Logan didn't let him go - and instead let the young man get through it without any further comment or attempt to direct him. Not until he was ready for it. "Hey. This girl," he said finally when Scott took half a step back. "Trust her long enough to hear her out or ditch?"

Scott took a deep breath and held it. "She got me out," he said at last. "And you… so…"

Logan frowned at that. "What happened? Short version."

"They…" Scott shook his head. "They got in while I was asleep and… you know the rest of that part." He shook his head.

Logan frowned and narrowed his eyes slightly. "After I went down - what happened?"

"I, um, well." Scott looked self conscious for a moment. "That red blast of mine - I looked at the soldiers and flattened a lot of them. Bridget got the rest and cut me loose and then she and the camp manager got you in the back of the truck."

Logan nodded at that and again made an attempt to direct him toward the waiting truck. "Never seen someone with that much of a cover set to go," he said quietly before he gestured to the back. "She's got a spot set up for you to crash.  _Before_ you pass out on your feet."

Scott nodded slowly. "Yeah. She said." He paused and then hugged Logan one more time before he climbed into the back without another word.

Logan waited at the back of the truck until Scott was more or less settled in between the two duffel bags and comfortably laid back on the little bed before he let out his breath and closed the cap.

True to her word, Bridget waited for Logan to get settled into the truck, and for Scott to at least look like he was trying to rest before she started the truck up and put it into gear. She knew both of them were waiting for explanations - and both of them were more or less just … watching for the moment. That much was evidenced by the fact that Scott hadn't bothered to close the windows that made a pass through possible. "I swear I'm not going to tell him anything without you, Caramel Mocha," she said in a volume loud enough that she was sure the boy could hear her.

"What's your plan?" Logan asked, knowing that Scott was keenly paying attention.

She paused to consider him for a moment. "What would you do?" she asked, turning his way with a perfectly open expression.

Logan met her gaze and held it for a long moment before he let out a breath. "I'd probably just put as many miles as we can behind us. Don't matter which way. Check the areas for anti-mutant problems first …"

"Yeah, we're not doing that," she said, shaking her head. "Well, we are, but first thing's first - let's find a decent little town and get a room. We can't keep the truck. That's gotta go - right now."

"We don't have time to change trucks," Logan said staring at her in near disbelief.

"We can't afford not to," she argued. "Those idiots saw the truck. When their back up got there, you can bet they were comparing notes - and oh look - the one other person in the whole area is gone. With the truck."

"How the hell are you going to switch out? That takes time."

"Do you always travel in a jeep?" she asked, but shook her head before Logan could answer. "Nevermind. It's not going to happen anyhow."

Logan looked ready to argue, but when he thought about it - she had a point. And it had him wondering what other small things he'd overlooked in the years that he'd been out looking for distance.

She turned her head so she was sure that Scott could hear her. "Go to sleep, really. I promise he'll tell you what I think he's doing wrong."

Logan looked down into the back of the truck bed and nodded his agreement. "We'll wake you up when we find a place."

Both of the adults in the truck waited, letting the silence fill the cab until Scott's breathing had evened out, and it was clear that the boy was asleep.

"Alright," Logan said quietly. "You don't have a nick or a scratch on you."

"Well. I'm just that good," she replied without missing a beat.

"No," he said, shaking his head lightly, though he had to smirk. "I cut your neck."

"I let you cut my neck," she said, frowning. "One could argue that I cut my own neck."

"Knock it off," he said in a drawl. "Come on. Come clean."

"You first." Bridget gave him a sidelong glance then tipped her chin up, already intent on ignoring him if need be. He let out an irritated sort of growl, that she answered with a scoff. "Try harder," she said. "You're not going to scare me, big guy. I know your rep. And you're not going to be that stupid."

Logan watched her a little closer. "What do they want from you?"

"Doesn't matter. Can't have what they want anyhow," she replied then shook her head. "You're getting into dangerous territory that I'll just have to repeat when he wakes up. How about you just … either go to sleep or keep an eye open for a cheap motel?"

"I'm not going to sleep," Logan said as he settled in and crossed his arms.

"Right," she said, nodding. "Paranoia. Check. Perfect. Keep that positive attitude."

…..

It was a little after dawn when they finally found a place that met Bridget's checklist, and she was sure to tell him to stay put until she got the key. "They don't need to know I have anyone with me, okay?"

He smirked at her as she climbed out of the truck. "What were you saying about paranoia?"

She stopped and met his gaze for just a moment before she slammed the door and headed for the office, shaking her head to herself. Logan let out a little chuckle and turned to look into the back of the truck, where Scott was already stirring.

"You alright, kiddo?" Logan asked as Scott rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, fine."

"Come on, Scotty …"

"Just a headache. I have my glasses. I'll be fine."

"We'll get you what you need," Logan promised - and a short while later, Bridget reappeared and went around to the back of the truck.

"We need to get everything out we don't want to lose," she said in a low tone.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to get rid of the truck while you two get cleaned up," she said. "I'm not going to breakfast with a couple of hyenas." She gave them both a little look and then climbed up into the back to help Scott with the bedrolls - working quickly before she handed them through the cap to Logan.

The three of them headed over to their room and put the supplies inside before Bridget took the keys. "I'll be back in an hour tops."

"Sure you're not ditching?" Logan asked.

She stopped and let out her breath as she turned to face him. "Watch out the window if you're scared I'm gonna leave you for too long," she said. "I'm just going to get the mechanic two doors down to buy my truck for cheap."

He frowned and tipped his head her way before she continued to explain. "Trust me. This works," she said as she looked in the mirror quickly and pulled a few extra strands of hair out of place and adjusted the way her shirt sat across her chest. She gave him a little smile and then headed out - though on her way past the truck, she popped the hood and fiddled around for a moment. Logan had to shake his head watching her as she pocketed a spark plug and then pointedly took a bit of motor oil from off of the hot engine block and smeared it on her chin before she headed down to the mechanic.

Sure enough, she was back twenty minutes later - looking like she'd been on the brink of tears as the mechanic took a look at the truck, smirked to himself and made her a lowball offer to buy it for parts. She made a real show out of looking grateful before she nodded and signed over the title for cash, then counted it behind the mechanic's back as he closed the hood of the truck. She waited for him to leave before she headed back to the room and pulled out a change of clothes for herself.

"If you boys are done, I'm going to need about fifteen minutes then we can go - and you can have your twenty questions, um …" she paused as she looked at Scott, frowning as if she'd lost his name in the hustle.

"Scott," he said, shaking his head. "You know that."

But she shook her head. "Please tell me you two aren't going by your actual names the whole time you've been on the run," she said, letting her shoulders drop. But when it was clear they had no other answer, she let out an irritated sound and pulled her hair out of the high ponytail she'd had it in. "Alright. Come on guys. Pick a name. Make it something you could answer to, and be ready to tell me what to call you when I come out fresh and clean and a new person."

She shook her head again, muttering under her breath about how it was basic evasion until she'd closed the door behind her and turned the water on in the shower.

When she came back out - she was re-dressed, but still towel drying her hair when she dropped onto the bed. She patted the space next to her and looked to Scott, waiting for him to sit down with her. "Alright. So. What can I call you?" She was giving him a slight smile as she waited.

"I know I can answer to Alex," Scott said, one hand at the back of his neck. "At least I used to. Sometimes."

She nodded and let her smile warm up a bit more. "Perfect. Now - since you're youngest, I want you to pick something that you can remember for me, too." She tipped her chin up toward Logan, who was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Probably should pick his since we know he's got a record of not doing that."

"What'd you do with the truck?" Logan asked as Scott thought over the name situation.

"What truck?" she asked, almost wide eyed. "Our ride? Will be nothing but a pile of parts by sundown. No way to trace it back to us if it doesn't exist."

"And your plan …"

"Is to pick up a different vehicle," she said. "Something completely different. No trucks. No jeeps. But before that, we should probably go get food. Both of you need it." She turned back to Scott. "Okay Alex." She gestured between herself and Logan. "Whatcha got?"

"What about … Nathan and Jane?" Scott suggested, but couldn't believe it when Logan was automatically shaking his head 'no'.

"Wasn't that the kid that followed you around in Nebraska?" he asked with an expression on his face that read clearly his distaste.

"You … he was my friend," Scott said, stopping when he saw the look on Logan's face.

"He was the same creep that was working you over in that hidden room," Logan told him quietly. "I don't know how he did it - but the scent was the same." He shook his head. "Nose doesn't lie."

Bridget looked between them for a long moment. "Okay, I'm going to need to hear this story too," she said quietly and slowly. "But … not at the diner. On the road where no one can over hear."

"What is your name anyhow?" Logan asked, still not really having taken his focus off of her.

She gestured to Scott. "Weren't you listening? Jane." She shook her head and turned back to the young man. "And apparently bad juju says no Nathan. So … pick something else, please, Alex. Anything but 'Tarzan'."

Scott couldn't help but smirk at her joke. "Okay then … how about Tony?"

"Now wait a minute," Logan started to argue, but Bridget had already wrapped up Scott in a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Perfect - and you - you already got one veto. That's all you get. If it's that terrible, you can name him next time. Maybe. If you ask nicely."

"What makes you think you're running the show?" Logan said.

She frowned his way. "Whose running …. Well let's start with whose plan we're following? Not yours. So …" she shrugged openly. "Come on, boys. Let's hit breakfast and then we can get a car and get the hell out of here. And … it is Saturday, so …"

Halfway to the door, she paused and opened up Logan's bag to pull out one of his flannel shirts. "It's a little cold out," she said in explanation before she slipped it over her shoulders and simply stepped out of the room, leading the way with Scott.

And it was something that was a lot more needed than either of the guys were willing to admit - though both of them took plenty of time filling up while their newest travelling companion sipped coffee and watched them both put it away.

It wasn't until Scott sat back that she even stopped her staring off down the road and met his gaze. "So," she said finally. "You had questions." She gave him a relaxed sort of smile. "But I am guessing a lot of those don't exactly meet standards right now. All things considered."

Scott stared back at her - and it was obvious that not knowing where to start had a whole new meaning since much of what he wanted to grill her on - simply didn't matter, or had been resolved.

"What did they want from you?" Scott finally said, though he'd worked hard to avoid saying too much in public.

"Same thing they wanted from him," she said in a matter-of-fact tone as she tipped her head toward Logan. "What about you?"

"He wasn't an asset," Logan said, though he stopped and looked across the table at Bridget and swore under his breath.

"Yeah, he  _wasn't_ ," she agreed. "Now?" she shrugged one shoulder up and looked like she was running something through her head. "I didn't leave any way for them to talk … but some things I couldn't cover." She turned Scott's way and shook her head slowly. "You know. Like … half the forest. That is now only useable as firewood. They're going to want that.  _You._ "

"Can't have him," Logan said, shaking his head.

"No kidding," she agreed, though for the first time, she let a touch of a growl lace her tone - and it caught both of their attention. "Do you have anyone you can trust?"

"In New York," Scott said, nodding. "But … they found us there too."

She nodded as she thought it over. "Bill was my guy to cover," she said. "And he's probably in the wind by now, I'm sure."

The three of them sat there in silence for a moment before she opened up the newspaper to the classifieds section and started scanning for a car. "Doesn't matter now though." She didn't look up as she kept speaking low and quiet. "Can't use anywhere near the northern border," she said. "West coast is shot for a while now too … ugh. How do you two feel about hills and banjos?"

"Bad atmosphere for our kind," Logan said as he picked up his mug.

"Good looking small families?" she said, shaking her head. "Come on. That's crap and you know it. We'll go in under the radar and we'll stick around for a little while. Let things cool down. Then …  _I suppose_ if we haven't gotten us busted by then, we can use my place."

"We're not going back to Oregon," Logan said.

"No, we're not," she agreed. "But I'm not from Oregon. Come on." She paused and stuck a finger in his face. "No. Canada. At all. Don't even ask."

"I … wasn't …"

"You were," she argued. "You're one of them - you can't help it. I just … no." She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, and refused to elaborate for him, which really set an interesting scene when the waitress came back to make her rounds and she paused.

"You okay, honey?" she asked Bridget, who glanced up at her and forced a smile.

"Yes, we were just having an old argument," Bridget replied.

The older woman turned to look at the two men and shook her head as she focused on Scott. "You're big enough you can tell your old man to treat her right, you know."

Scott was visibly taken back, and had no idea how to address that until Bridget handled it. "It wasn't anything major," she promised as she reached across the table and slipped her hand into Logan's, though to her surprise, he played along perfectly well. "I'm just a little road weary is all."

The waitress' whole demeanor warmed up as she misinterpreted Logan's smirk as he watched Bridget. "Then let me top you off, honey," she said, quickly refilling the coffee and then heading back to the counter.

For a little while the two of them simply sat there like that, until Bridget gave Logan a bright smile and took her hand back to mix in a bit of sugar in her coffee without another word spoken.

From there, it was a little more interesting. Bridget handed Logan a wad of cash and she and Scott found a park bench not too far from a small car lot. It wasn't long before Logan drove out with their new ride - and it was nothing close to what they'd been travelling in before - a simple sedan that absolutely blended in with anywhere they'd go. At least until they were far enough east. If they ended up in the area Bridget was angling for, then they could switch out for something that met up with the local flavor … but for basic travelling …

"Nice," she said as the two of them climbed in and headed back to the hotel to pack up. It was less than an hour before they were on the road again - and now, with everyone all in one place, safe, sound, and isolated from the rest of the world, they could start with the real questions.

"What's your actual name?" Scott asked from the back seat once they were on the road for a while. "Since it's not Bridget, and I know it's not Jane."

She let out a breath and looked at him in the rear view for a moment. "That … really doesn't matter."

"Sure it does," he said with an obvious frown.

She turned around and peeked at him so she was at least looking at him face to face. "Listen. You're not going to use it. I'm not using it … really. It doesn't matter."

Scott couldn't help but try one more angle that he was pretty sure was going to work - if he played his cards right. "I thought you said you were going to answer my questions."

She let out a noise of pure disbelief before she sat up straighter - and absolutely did not miss the smug look on Logan's face as she muttered out 'Caramel Mocha' like it was some sort of curse. "Okay. Yeah. I did," she agreed, nodding her head and holding both hands up. "Fine. But the fact is - the same creeps that worked him over, worked me over too, okay? So I don't … I haven't used my name in years."

"Still didn't answer him," Logan said, earning an open-mouthed look of betrayal from her half a second before she punched his arm hard enough to get him to flinch.

"I've been using 'K' for about … oh. Five or six years anyhow," she said. "But I was born with 'Lilja'."

"K's from the program, isn't it?" Logan asked, frowning at her outright. "Why the hell don't you just go by your  _name_?"

She looked frustrated, and a light flush rose up in her cheeks. "It's not that simple, okay? I  _can't._ "

"So you just keep changing your name rather than use what you should," Logan said, though it was clear he wasn't really pleased with her answer. "Cryin' shame, too. Lilja's kinda pretty."

She crossed her arms and turned so that she was looking out the window rather than talk to him and face him. "And pretty damned unique,  _Logan_. Like I said, it doesn't matter. What's the story with you two? Or … well. Scott. How'd you end up with this guy as a dad?"

Scott took a breath and gave her a quick synopsis, and she was sure to simply listen to him - slowly relaxing as she heard more, though she was obviously getting more angry as she heard how it had progressed, though her stern glare that she'd been directing Logan's way more often than not softened considerably.

She, in turn, took the time to fill them in on her story as best she was able - which, once she'd told them the bare bones, Scott was more than a little surprised to hear that she didn't have as many memory issues as Logan did, and that she was even able to explain why. "It's not that there isn't stuff missing," she explained. "It's just that it took them too long to find something traumatic enough to make their memory mods stick," she told them, though she asked that they call her 'K' when it was just them, and refused to explain why not 'Lilja'. "And when they got cocky enough to straight up  _tell me_ they were going to clean my slate - openly admitting it - I … well I snapped."

"What happened?" Scott asked, watching her carefully - and he saw in his peripheral vision that Logan too was intently listening.

"I …" K paused and let out a shaky breath. "I attacked my handler and jumped out of a helicopter." She looked over at Logan and shook her head. "Almost as dramatic as your escape, I'm told."

"Yeah? Who told you - and  _what_ did they tell you?" Logan asked, half curious and half cautious.

"Well," she said slowly. "A few of them told me how you trashed that complex and killed just about everyone in it. And I can tell you for sure, they want you back badly enough that they were willing to go through hundreds of mutants to find a handful that might be able to capture." She kept her gaze forward as she finished up. "Not that they're around to tell you as much."

Silence fell over the group for a long while before K let out an irritated sound and reached over to flip on the radio. "No reason to sit here in the quiet if no one is going to talk."

She fiddled with the tuner until the smooth tones of George Strait singing ' _Blame Mexico_ ' at least broke the silence, then she leaned back with her eyes closed.

Logan at least seemed appeased by her music selection and let out a little breath as he settled in to drive a long stretch when Scott started to really weigh it out.

The fact that so many of his questions were now invalid didn't change the fact that Scott didn't know nearly as much about Bridg-  _K_ as he thought he did. And there was one question that he was entirely sure that Logan hadn't wanted to breach with her yet.

"K," Scott said, waiting for her to answer with a soft 'hmm' before he continued, oh, so cautiously. "What … is your special ability?"

He didn't miss one bit that Logan's head turned quickly to watch her as K stiffened up slightly. Clearly Logan wanted to know, and Scott wondered for just a moment if that wasn't … socially acceptable - to ask a lady about her mutation.

"Regenerative healing, enhanced senses, and I have claws," she said wearily. "Just like your dad, only much prettier."

"Prettier how?" Scott asked.

But K gestured to herself grandly head to toe without further comment - and kept her eyes closed. "Same power set - different skill set," she said.

"What makes it such a different skill set?" Scott asked.

For just a moment, K looked uncomfortable, though she simply turned the radio down a little bit and then tried to explain. "For starters, I'm nowhere near as strong as he is," she said in a conversational tone. "And unless they gave me some special enhancements to get me there, I have to operate differently." She shrugged lightly and gave Logan a little smile with no joy in it whatsoever. "Lucky I'm cute or they would have probably tried that route. You have no idea the trouble I had for not revealing that I had claws right away."

"How'd you manage to keep it quiet?" Logan asked, trying to meter his tone so that he didn't sound nearly as suspicious of the whole situation as he was.

"I … don't  _like_ to hurt," she replied with a frown. "So I didn't share. Not until I actually feared for my life."

Before either of them could get any further details, K drew in an audible breath and sat forward again. "Hey. How about I just leave it open? Alright? I've had about enough for questions today, but if we're going to travel together …"

"Not sure I remember inviting you for the long haul," Logan said in a teasing tone, though it was clear immediately that Scott didn't like the sound of ditching her.

"You know what, you're right," K said, arms crossed. "You didn't invite me to drag your heavy ass into my truck and haul you out of trouble. You also didn't invite me to try to help your ungrateful carcass to get out and away from the creeps that had you  _and_ your son in custody. But seeing as my life got tossed in that little mess too? How about you find a way to stomach it until the kid is safe at least, huh?" She turned so that her back was to him and Scott could see that she looked perfectly miserable in the reflection of the window, and if he didn't know her to be such a bright, sassy force of nature he'd have thought she was on the verge of tears.

"Not what I meant," Logan said gently. "And I do appreciate everything that you've done. I'm just aware that three is easier to spot than two."

For a long moment, silence filled the car - at least, beyond the normal road sounds. "I'll be out of your hair as soon as you're settled in," K replied quietly, immediately starting to pull back from both of them as soon as she'd thought she wasn't welcome in the group, much more evasive about any questions posed - and sometimes outright ignoring them, even though Logan tried almost immediately to amend his previous words.

…..

The little trio stopped only for gas over the next two days - and halfway across the country, K pulled the same little trick she'd done when they ditched the truck, and Logan finally had to admit - it was a highly effective method of covering your tracks.

Of course, they couldn't possibly know that part of her relative silence was stemming from the simple fact that she'd suggested what she was sure had to be the best area to lay low, and if she wasn't going to stick with them … that left her in the lurch. But she didn't really need to say it. Scott had figured that much out himself by then. And he didn't like it one bit.

"We can't just leave her," Scott told Logan once the two of them were out of earshot.

"I know," Logan said quietly. "Not sure that she'll listen at this point though."

"She'll listen to me," Scott insisted.

Logan gestured grandly. "Well good luck."

"Good," Scott said, turning to leave, then paused. "We can make it work, right? Three of us?"

Logan nodded at that. "Probably be less conspicuous than you an' me alone."

"That's what I was thinking," Scott agreed, breaking into a little grin before he headed off to catch up to K.

But while the boys had been chatting, K had taken a moment to stretch her legs, as she'd been doing when they'd stop for longer stretches and she didn't want to hear what they were saying between themselves. She didn't want to like them as much as she did, and she tried to remind herself that attachments really only gave the department a foothold.

So, she wrapped her arms around her middle and walked out into the trails that were a part of this particular roadside park. And the further she got into the tree-lined trail, the more she almost wanted them to go ahead and just … leave her there like some stray. If only she wasn't sure that the next time that the department came down on them that Scott would be in every bit as much trouble as Logan was.

She was deeply in thought when the little boardwalk opened up to a scenic overlook - if you could call looking down into a rocky gorge scenic. She had just tossed her hair over her shoulder when the wind shifted and K stopped all forward motion.

The hair on the back of her neck was standing straight up and she was absolutely sure that she couldn't run fast enough even if she'd gotten a head start. Not for as little open ground as there was. Her gaze drifted down to the rocks below and she tried not to swear outright when she saw that there was no easy path out - no river at the bottom, no tight grouping of trees. Nothing but injury on one side and Sabretooth on the other. She felt her pulse pick up just at the scent, and she knew she was in trouble.

"You can start fighting anytime," Creed drawled out. "Easy enough to tell you knew I was here when the terror scent spiked."

Very slowly, she turned to face him, hands clenching and unclenching, and trying not to react more than she'd already done. "Who are you after?" she asked quietly, honestly trying to waste time since she was pretty sure of the answer.

"See," he said, smiling widely her way as he started to slowly walk her way - one step at a time, as if he had all the time in the world. "That's the fun part, ain't it? You know they want all three of ya - can't wait to get a hold of the pup, to be honest … and though I know snatchin' him up'd get both of ya running, I think it'd be more fun if it wasn't the kid that I took back first."

His grin seemed to grow colder as she tried to see a way  _past_ him. He was still advancing slowly - and she'd unconsciously taken a few steps backward that had him almost purring to himself. But when she saw no exit was available, she tried to force the fear into a fight an instant before he charged her. But it really wasn't much of a fight. Not when he'd come prepared and she was scared half out of her mind just by seeing him there - larger than life.

The little spar was quick, though he was sure  _not_ to knock her out once he'd overpowered her. In short order, he was dragging her down the trail by her ankle - hoping she'd scream or fight some more - anything to draw the others closer or tip them off about what was happening. Of course, she didn't  _need_ to. It was really the fact that Creed wanted her to scream. For himself.

Creen knew that once Logan saw that the girl hadn't come back, he'd track down the scent. To his irritation though, K was pretty damn good at grabbing a hold of fence posts and benches - holding tight as he played a quick and nasty game of tug of war with her - and a few of those hard jerks very nearly got him the scream he was looking for. But not yet.

She was fighting - and Victor could see she wasn't throwing her all into it yet, and to be honest, he was a little insulted. It wasn't any fun if they could argue that they  _could_ have done more. So the next time she managed to snag the railing, he pulled hard - and then let her go - just to see which way she'd run.

To his utter irritation, it wasn't toward the parking lot, and the second her feet were under her, she was rushing into the woods as if that was the entire purpose of life, and with a snarl, he broke off behind her into a run, muttering curses her way. She was quicker on her feet, but she couldn't blast through the underbrush like he could, and when he finally tackled her bodily - pressing her into the soft dirt, she couldn't stop the little scream that was so much less than he'd hoped for.

She was still all defiance, and that wasn't going to work for him. "Help me square these two away and I won't take you back to the department," Creed said over her shoulder so low that even if the boys had been close, they wouldn't have heard it. He reached up to turn her head to face him - holding her hands in one of his when she bit down on the spot between his thumb and forefinger - not stopping until her teeth met - and  _he_ was the one screaming in the woods.

It was not a well thought out plan though - and he retaliated quickly, simply sinking his claws into her neck and cheek. A little flick of one finger had her bleeding horribly and he was happy to watch it happen as he held his bitten hand out for a moment watching the skin stitch back together.

He could hear the sound of footsteps - and the kid calling for her though, so he decided to get with his original plan and he simply started dragging her back to the trail - by her hands this time.

The blood left a much more obvious trail to follow, which meant that Scott didn't even need any enhanced senses to know which way K was going. He didn't know if K was the one bleeding or not - he kind of hoped she was the one inflicting the damage - but he did have one hand on the panic button Captain America had given him just in case.

They weren't that far out from when the bad guys after Logan had found them, after all, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. If they were busted, he was going to hit the button for help.

So of course when he was caught up enough that he saw the huge blonde that had menaced him and Logan before - he didn't hesitate to hit it then. The last time they'd tangled with this guy, Logan had ended up badly hurt, and K was already caught - he did  _not_ want to find out what round two looked like.

Up ahead, Victor paused, and turned to simply pick K up and slam her back on the ground when she started kicking at his knees, though once he'd knocked her silly, he glanced up at Scott with a growing smile. "Run along now, boy. If you want her back, you're gonna have to come find her."

Scott didn't drop Victor's gaze as he gestured to K with one hand. "Found her."

Victorn nearly snorted at that and simply turned to keep walking. "Right. Bring the runt with you for a trade."

"That's not what you said," Scott argued as he slowly moved after him. "You said I just had to find her to get her back. I did."

Victor chuckled at that. "Never said that's all you had to do," he countered. "But if you want me to crack you a good one again … come and try to take her from me."

"So this is what you do? Fight women and kids? Real brave," Scott shot back with his eyes narrowed, though he was still following, sure that Logan wouldn't be far behind when he realized he and K weren't back - not to mention Captain America would surely be on the way soon.

He looked over his shoulder with one eyebrow raised, obviously irritated at his insinuations. "Nah. I get paid to put people back where they belong."

"Oh, sure. That's why all I've seen you do so far is throw down with a teenager and carry around a woman about, what, a third your size?"

"This one's goin' back to where I can keep an eye on her … you .. well. They'll get a special place for you, kid."

"Ah, okay," Scott said, nodding. "So when you're getting  _paid_ , you're a delivery boy. When it's just you, you're just out for people who can't fight you."

"Just gettin' paid for you and the runt," he said with a grin and K, for her part seemed to figure it out fast - doing more to fight her way out of his grip.

Scott paused for a moment and then settled into a glare as he rushed to catch back up. "So I was right. You really do just pick on people smaller. Can't have a  _real_ fight or you'd  _lose_."

"Ain't no one big enough to go toe to toe, boy," Victor growled out.

"Yeah? Then how come my dad can flatten you out?" Scott shot back.

At that, Victor stopped cold and turned with a low growl, his eyes narrowed to slits. "Ain't never happened."

"Yeah, sure, you just keep lying to me and see how that works out," Scott said, holding his gaze.

Victor let out a snarl and rounded on him, though the motion was enough for K to get in a few solid kicks - that after she'd hit him a few times hard, she dropped him to the ground - though he didn't let her go, and when she tried to put distance between them, he grabbed a hold of her and yanked her closer. The too- close proximity was too much for K though, and when he was inches from her face, she couldn't help but let out a little noise that had him grinning wider - just before he reached out and slashed her again to get his scream.

While she was still reeling, he pushed back up to his feet, looking more smug than he should ever be allowed to be. "Gotta make me work for every one, don't ya, frail?" he growled her way. But that was a step too far, apparently because even as he was soaking in watching her curl over her wounds, Victor's smile dropped a bit and he turned his head - obviously hearing something that Scott could not. "Time to go, girlie."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Scott shot back as he reached up to grab his glasses from off his face, the headache from the stress of the encounter already building to something familiar. And two blinks later, the glow had turned into the now-familiar blast with a sharp sort of noise as it took Victor off his feet for several yards out, laying him out farther into the trees.

"You're gettin' better at that," Logan said as he made his way around the corner, clearly having run the way there.

Scott put the glasses back on and spared Logan a small smile before he ran over to where K was. "Hi, Dad - what took you so long?"

"Didn't realize that jackass was out here and I thought you were talking with your friend," he said as he joined Scott and shook his head at K's injuries. "Wind shifted. Caught it on the breeze."

"He had her when I caught up," Scott said, almost smirking to himself at how Logan hadn't bristled at how he'd addressed him. "But I don't think … I don't think he was  _sent_ for her. He said he was only getting paid for you and me."

Logan gave him a look and shook his head as he took off his flannel shirt. "Not surprised," he said between gritted teeth. "Help me get her wrapped up, would ya?"

Scott nodded as he followed Logan's lead. "I don't know how long that blast will keep him down," he pointed out.

Logan nodded and simply picked K up, who had passed out shortly before Scott creamed Creed. "No reason to stick around, and I doubt she's gonna argue ditching right now." He started down the trail with barely a backward glance Victor's way. "Get the door. I want to get moving."

"Yeah," Scott agreed quickly, though even as he was moving, he had to glance Logan's way. "I… called in some backup," he said, almost wincing and wondering if it was the right move.

Logan paused and turned his way for a moment, watching him. "Alright."

"I thought - I thought if we were busted we might not get as lucky a second time," Scott explained quickly. "And seeing that guy…"

Logan nodded. "If he was sent for us, then they're on our trail anyhow," he told him. "So I'm gonna have to let her know as much. Besides, we need a leap." When they reached the parking lot, he once again tipped his head toward the car. "Get the door, wouldja? As long as you got the panic button on you, they'll catch up."

Scott nodded as he held the door open for Logan and glanced back toward where they had left Victor. "He's still not up," he couldn't help but say, sounding satisfied.

Logan smirked and nodded as he got K situated in the back seat. "Looks like you got a helluva kick to you, kiddo. Can't think of a more worthy test dummy."

"Yeah, well, had to wait until he put her down. I think I'm just set on 'high destruct' when it happens," Scott admitted.

"Seein' as you've been more'n a little worked up every time? I'd say it ain't your fault. We'll have to figure out where you can practice that don't involve Victor Creed." He gave Scott a smile and ruffled his hair as he got out of the backseat, where he'd covered K up with one of her blankets, hoping the scent on them would be enough to keep her calm. He walked around the car to the driver's side, eyes on the lot around them and scenting the air. "I'll keep an eye out for her wakin' up. Just in case there's a panic."

"Good idea," Scott had to agree as he climbed in as well, though once they got going, he was almost nervously turning the button from his pocket over in his hands waiting for the Avengers to show - and wondering if the creeps that had sent Victor would get there before the Avengers did.


	35. Red, White, and Rescued

As soon as the three travelers had gotten into the car, Logan turned Scott's way and gave him a simple, but confusing request. "Empty out the duffel bags. One piece of clothing at a time. Check the shoes. All the way to the toes."

"What am I looking for?" Scott asked with a frown as he pulled the first duffel bag into the front seat.

"Anything that doesn't belong there," Logan said. He looked angry for a moment, but once again jerked his head Scott's way. "Just look. You'll know it when you find it."

Scott frowned but did as he was told … and went through every piece of clothing in his bag to find nothing at all. But at the bottom of Logan's bag - there was a small, flat piece of metal about the size of a nickel with a short wire on it. "What the heck…"

"Throw it out the window," Logan said through gritted teeth as he glared out of the windshield. "And make sure there aren't anymore."

Scott simply nodded and did as Logan asked - first whipping the tracer out of the window and then once again going through every bit of clothing - pockets and all searching for it now that he knew what the trouble was. He took the time to carefully fold everything and put it back the way he'd packed his own bag, though it was clear when he stole glances at Logan that his Dad was beyond frustrated.

It was simple, and when Scott thought about it, the soldiers had the opportunity - and they'd only bugged  _Logan's_ bag, so it was clear that they thought there was a good chance that Logan would have left him behind. He frowned harder, his jaw locked tightly as he turned to stare out of his window. A defiant sort of fire rose up in his chest as Scott thought back to the not so distant past and how Logan had so selflessly given up rather than risk Scott's neck any worse. Of course, after seeing how they subdued him, Scott was sure that he would have been taken down anyhow. Logan's surrender was purely to avoid Scott any more unneeded pain.  _Shows what they know_ , he thought to himself, and for an instant, he could feel the red glow tick up behind the ruby quartz lenses.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on keeping his cool, counting slowly as he inhaled and exhaled .. until the anger had actually ebbed somewhat.

They'd gotten away, after all. And there were no more tracers. He put the bags back into the backseat and started to relax, watching the scenery go by, thinking to himself on what the best course of action was while K was passed out in the backseat.

"Check hers too," Logan said after Scott clearly looked as if he'd finished his task.

"I don't think …"

"We still don't know if they were after her too, and considering the exit strategy she had in place, we need to know. Check. I'm sure she'll forgive you," Logan said, his tone more gentle than before. "We don't want them getting her either."

Scott drew in a breath and held it as he nodded his head in agreement, and a few short moments later, he was carefully going through K's bag … and hating every second of it. Aside from the fact that she'd been his  _boss_ , going through the carefully folded ladies' things was not something a young man his age wanted to do without permission. Even if it was his Dad that had told him to do it.

"She's clean," Scott said after he'd done as Logan asked, and on letting the words out, he had to admit - knowing that much had him feeling slightly better in spite of the fact that he'd hated it.

Logan drove for a few hours, the ride almost silent as K simply hadn't woken up yet and Scott didn't have much to say - though he kept looking into the backseat, wondering to himself if her healing wasn't as good as Logan's was. He'd never seen anyone as injured as Logan had been, and it was more than a little jarring to think that his sassy boss could even begin to come back from anything as raw and vicious as Logan had done before Scott's eyes.

But, to Scott's surprise, when they found a likely looking town near Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Logan was sure to use K's methods once they were checked into the motel. Everything was taken out of the car, including K, who Logan carried into the room bridal style. He laid her down on one of the beds and even pulled her boots off to make sure she was more comfortable before he glanced up at Scott and pointed a finger his way. "Keep away from her in case she wakes up swinging."

Scott nodded and headed for the chair near the door as Logan went out to ditch the car. He was determined that he wouldn't fall asleep this time, honestly keyed up the more he thought about it. The department had obviously been tracking them, and Scott was sure it would be a matter of time before they were found again.

He knew he wasn't any good in a fight against the whole group of them, but he  _did_ feel like he was getting a better handle on that red glow of his, and he  _did_ feel like he could at least hold his own in a fight with everything Logan had taught him.

At the very least, he wasn't going to let them…  _use_ him like they had before.

Logan returned not long after, looking like he'd been rushing. "What's the plan?" Scott asked as Logan closed the door behind him carefully and then took a seat across from him.

"Plan is we give her a chance to wake up so if she starts swinging, it's not in a small space," Logan said. "Just had to get far enough away from Creed to shake 'im. Kind of glad we got her in here before she woke up."

Scott nodded. "And the car?"

"Is parked six blocks down. Doors unlocked, keys in the ignition. It'll be gone by morning."

Scott thought about it and sat back. It wasn't quite the same as K's little sell for parts trick, but … it was probably just as effective. He had started to wonder how long it was going to take before help came or if the panic button even  _worked._ It had been a few hours since he'd hit it … and they'd been moving non stop since then. He was starting to have his doubts.

* * *

K woke up with a start, scrambling backward and right at the edge of panic when she smelled the obvious scents of many, many people around her and the cheap bleach that was commonplace in motels. She could hear two hearts beating outside of the rushing blood in her ears, and neither of the people belonging to them seemed overly shocked when she startled like she did. She was wide-eyed even as Logan tried to calm her down, quick to make it to her side and then gently reaching a hand out her way. He tried for a relaxing tone as he caught her gaze and spoke in low, quiet rumbles.

She'd slept for hours… the stress of their situation had crashed down on her shoulders after Creed attacked her and nearly bled her out - and before she could stop herself, she drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her crossed arms, allowing herself a chance to let it go for once.

"Hey, he's nowhere near you," Logan said so softly that he knew only she could hear him. "Scotty blasted him pretty solid." He took a measured risk and rested his hand on her forearm before he scooted a little closer to her. "What did he want with you anyhow?"

"What do you  _think_?" K shot back as she picked her head up and brushed the wetness off her cheeks with the heel of her palm. "What in the  _world_ could Mr. Mean want from me?"

"How do you know him?" Scott asked from the other side of the room, and it was only just then that K really looked around herself to take in her surroundings beyond the initial panic that she'd felt on waking.

She frowned his way and looked sullen for a long moment before she finally spoke up. "He was my  _handler_." Logan stopped and stared openly at her for a long moment until she simply nodded her head, sure that he'd gotten the full picture of things now. "Yeah. So now I wanna know how he managed to run into me after so long with not even a whisper."

"He was following us," Logan admitted, but K was shaking her head right away.

"No way. He had to have gotten tipped off somehow. Or it was a case of absolutely crappy luck."

"He'd found us when we were in Wisconsin," Scott pointed out. "He might have been following us and biding his time. And -"

"You don't get it, Caramel Mocha," K said, cutting him off and holding his gaze. "He wouldn't have just let me go about my life if he had even an inkling that I was there. It wasn't in Oregon."

"Darlin', Scotty found a tracker. He was tipped off - and he was followin'  _us_. Until he showed his ugly mug, he didn't have clue one you were in the equation," Logan said.

She stared at him openly for a long moment. "Where was the bug?"

"In the bottom of my duffel bag," Logan admitted. "They must've put it there when the kid was out - before the big fight back by the coast."

She seemed to consider him for a long time before she let the breath simply deflate her, shoulders relaxing and totally worn still. "That is almost a relief … and so, so bad," she said quietly.

The two of them took a few minutes to discuss how they got to where they were, and K looked genuinely pleased to hear how Logan had handled the room, the car - all of it. She couldn't even stop the crooked little smile on hearing the salient details. "But," Logan said. "I want to stay for the night. You wore yourself out too much. You need to recharge and rest."

"We need to  _move_ ," K argued, but when both of them looked ready to try and stop her from going anywhere, she relented. "Are you both going to freak out on me if I take a shower?"

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "I'll bring you your clothes."

She looked down at her knees again and nodded lightly. "Thank you. For not leaving me with him."

Logan's whole body language shifted. "Sweetheart, there's no way in hell I'd leave you with that idiot. Besides. We're gonna need you to keep our cover."

"If they know I'm with you -"

"A family of three is still harder to sift through than a father and son," Logan pointed out. "Numbers, right?"

She looked over to Scott, who was nodding along before she agreed. "Alright. Still. Thanks. Both of you."

Logan got to his feet and offered her a hand up - not that she needed it - and she slipped off into the bathroom to clean up.

"I'll order the pizzas," Scott said, already pulling the phone book out of the drawer.

* * *

It was clear that Logan had made the right move to stop and rest. After K got out of the shower and wolfed down a couple slices of pizza she simply went to the bed again and curled up, ignoring the fact that Logan was sitting there watching the news.

He glanced down at her and smirked to himself when it was apparent by her actions that she was silently acknowledging that she trusted him - especially seeing as she turned her back to him when she settled in. It was a step in the right direction anyhow. He only watched her for a moment though before he went back to the news.

It wasn't much longer after that when Scott yawned widely and Logan tipped his head toward the other bed. "Take a break. I'll keep watch," Logan suggested.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked. "I'm okay for a while still."

"Go to sleep," Logan said, smirking. "You can take next watch if you want."

Scott nodded to himself at that and made his way over to try and sleep, though if he was being honest, he was on edge waiting for someone to catch up to them - or for any kind of sign that Captain America's panic button did  _anything_ at all.

As he laid down and settled in, he began to wonder if he'd done it right. If there was something that he was supposed to have done to make it work. Maybe he should have held it down. Or … maybe he'd wrecked it somehow since they'd gotten to Oregon. He resolutely pushed back any thought that the button was a prop to make him feel better. He couldn't believe that  _Captain America_  would do something like that.

Now, Tony Stark on the other hand …

He frowned deeper and shook the thought out of his head as he settled in.  _No_. that was not what was happening. At all. Not when Janet Van Dyne was on board for the button too.

But as he laid there, trying to relax enough to sleep, it didn't help Scott feel any better. Especially considering that he now  _knew_ that both his Dad and his …  _K_ … were at the top of the Department's 'recover' list, and if what they said was right, he was quickly catching up to them.

The news ended at about the time that Scott fell asleep properly, and Logan let out a sigh as he looked over his two charges. K hadn't been entirely forthcoming with them and he knew it. But the fact that she'd managed to evade Sabretooth for so long …

 _That_ was no small feat. Particularly if Victor had been her  _handler._  That meant that he knew her well enough to be able to get into her head, and if what Scott had told him was accurate, she really wasn't much for fighting back against him once she got spooked.

The sound of a blackhawk passing overhead had him on alert. The fact that it was most definitely a government outfit - since the thing was muted somehow - had his claws itching. Before he knew it, he was on his feet and then at the window, trying to sneak a peek through the cracks in the curtains to see something that would let him know what the hell he was up against.

He startled slightly when a delicate hand rested on his bicep, and he turned to see K - who he had not heard move, let alone get up and cross the room. "How many?" she asked low enough to not even qualify as a whisper.

"Three choppers," he replied.

She peeked around him, trying to get a better look at the numbers for herself, and he stepped back to let her, watching to see how she'd handle it and not paying attention to how close she was standing to him. "I can make you a break in the line."

"Not going without you," he said quietly over her shoulder.

"You should," she argued. "I'll slip out soon enough if they snag me."

Logan froze for an instant then growled low at her, and she turned to look at him over her shoulder with a little frown. "Not happening," he said through his teeth - but the growl was really what woke up Scott.

"What's going on?" Scott asked, sleep thick in his voice as he got himself upright and tried to wake up faster.

"We've got company," Logan said.

"That doesn't make sense if you got rid of the tracker," K muttered quietly before she swore under her breath as the choppers began to unload soldiers that scattered out into the shadows and behind cover. "Alright. New plan. I'll make a distraction, you two make a break for it."

"We're not doing that," Logan said with some heat.

"Wait," Scott said, looking hopeful.

"Yes, we are," K replied, drawing herself up - and not quite meeting him perfectly head on - just an inch or two shorter than he was.

"Guys…"

"We're taking a different route," Logan insisted. "One that we all stick together for."

"Get real," K said, stepping a hair closer. "You couldn't beat them in Oregon, you're not going to-"

"Guys -  _hey_ ," Scott said, cutting across her. When the two of them turned his way he held up his panic button. "I asked for help …  _remember?_ "

K frowned deeper, clearly confused. "What are you-"

"Rogers," Logan said in a breath before he looked out the window again, still cautious, but this time looking for the eagle emblem, though he frowned deeper when he realized there was no identifying markers on any of the soldiers. " _Damnit_."

"Alright, they're getting closer, what's your plan?" K asked, already taking a ready stance and flexing her hands. "Too late to do mine."

Logan gave her a glare and growled, angry with himself for not moving faster, but refusing to believe that sacrificing her was going to help. Instead of answering her, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back away from the door, shoving her behind him hard enough, she very nearly stumbled.

"Hey. Easy, fella," K muttered as Scott reached out to make sure she didn't fall over sideways.

The sound of soldiers en masse trying to creep up the stairs outside was easy for the two adults to hear, and even Scott could hear it by the time that they made it to the door.

There was a knock on the door, and while Logan looked tense and ready to fight, with bruises on the backs of his hands where his claws were pressing on the backside of the skin there, K was shifting back and forth slightly, ready to spring.

The soldiers announced themselves as SHIELD a moment before they used the key to get into the door - weapons drawn, though as they filed into the room and were quick to subdue Logan before he could fight, they were really only restraining Logan … but kept their guns trained on K.

Several soldiers grabbed onto Scott's arms and yanked him away from her as they started shouting out commands, and she dove into the fight almost as soon as they came through the door. She was pounding them as best she was able in tight quarters, unable to draw her arm back for long before a soldier grabbed it. But she kept trying.

She drew back and threw a punch at the soldier directly in front of her, and half of the men in the room fired - darts, not rifle rounds. In short order, the soldiers regained their grit and began grabbing on to her while the little brunette was blindly reaching for anyone she could get a hold of. All while the bulk of the soldiers had made a point to restrain both Scott and Logan - which was no small task considering how hard they were both fighting to get loose.

"She's not unknown," the soldier in front of Logan said as several more had a hold of him, pushing and pulling him back, though it only took a couple to do the same with Scott. "We had to neutralize the threat - Captain America's orders."

"She's with  _us,_ " Logan snarled out for what had to be the umpteenth time, but they were already doing as they'd been ordered as they put restraints on the little woman and started to carry her out.

"Then I'm sure that Captain Rogers will clear this all up. In the meantime, we still have to follow through on our orders."

Logan shoved the men holding him away and glanced over at Scott. "We need to keep her in our sight," he said, gesturing for him to stick close as he rushed out of the room, and Scott hurried to catch up.

When they got close to the helicopter, an argument started up - and it was clear that they didn't want to let them anywhere near the big, dangerous, sedated five-foot-two 'threat'. Logan didn't bother informing the soldiers on what he was doing before he cracked one in the mouth and simply climbed into the helicopter that they'd loaded K up into, forcing his way over to sit next to her - even going so far as to toss one of the guards watching her across the body of the chopper. Just before he waved Scott forward.

One of the younger soldiers tried hard to stick to what he'd been told, even going so far as to raise his tranq gun at Logan, but that fizzled quickly when Logan informed him of what would happen if he pulled the trigger on him or Scott in a low, even growl. "Just tell your superior that we're sticking to her - or we're leaving with her," Logan said. "If Rogers sent you, he's not going to care as long as he can make sure we show up on the other end."

It was a clear test for Logan - to see if the guy was going to ask, and to see if he really was operating on Steve's orders. But when he did take half a step back and ask for a deviation from orders, explaining the situation, Logan let out half of a breath when the person on the other side clearly okayed it.

Scott stuck to Logan like glue as the two of them made their own little space near K, his heart rate still rushing from the fact that the soldiers had grabbed him to pull him away from K. He was  _not_ about to let either of them - K or Logan - out of his sights at this point. Not until he saw Captain America, anyway. He knew he could trust  _Captain Rogers_ , but these soldiers …

He wanted to trust them, he did, but all things considered, he just couldn't. So he was sure Logan had the right idea when he planted himself next to K and flat refused to listen to any other options.

It took a little over an hour for the choppers to land outside of NYC, and when they did, there was a rush of Agents that swept in, right along with Captain America, who was honestly and visibly relieved to see the two of them.

But while Steve had made his way forward, the SHIELD Agents did their job and moved in to get the 'threat' contained. She was halfway down the opposite hall before Logan heard the door open and pushed by Steve to try to follow, and as was his luck, she was through the door and out of sight by the time he got there.

"You can't let them just disappear with her," Logan shouted Cap's way, pointing down the hall. "She was with us. She's the reason we got away from that mess."

"She got us away from the Department's people," Scott agreed. "We never would have gotten far without her help."

Steve frowned and looked down the hallway to where the big, shiny metal door stood. "I don't know what to tell you," he said. "I don't have the clearance to go that way."

With a growl, Logan popped his claws, ready to tear the door off the hinges if need be, but before he could make contact, Coulson's voice rang out from behind Steve and Scott. "I can personally promise that no harm will come to her." He held up both hands. "I'm on it. She'll wake up in a safe place, and if I can talk the director into it, you'll be able to have a word before we send you somewhere else." Coulson closed the distance, but he never broke eye contact with Logan. "That's the best I can offer right now."

It was clear that Logan wasn't going to accept that for an answer, and before Logan could get a hold of him, Steve stepped between them, one hand up - more to get Logan to wait than it was to get Coulson to stop - especially since Coulson hadn't moved or blinked yet.

"I want to know what's going on with her. Every step of the way, and if she's not in trouble - I think it's clear that they need to have the chance to see her choose which way she's leaving." Steve held Coulson's gaze for a long moment before finally, Coulson nodded once with an almost sedate smile.

"Of course," he said, trying to come across as pleasant as possible, even though Logan was convinced that this Coulson character did  _not_ want to tell him anything about what they were going to do to this woman. Coulson stepped around them and turned down the hall - not going through the door that K had disappeared down as Steve redirected the two of them.

"You can trust him," Steve said quietly, one hand on Logan's shoulder and the other on Scott's. "Coulson's as good as they come."

"I don't care if she  _is_ in trouble. I want to know what's going on and I want to talk to her." Logan growled out, clearly looking like he wasn't happy with the direction. But short of destroying the whole complex, he knew he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Not with Scott there. When both Coulson and Steve simply waited for him to react, he let out a breath and turned to his adoptive son. "You okay with this?" Logan said to Scott.

Scott glanced up at Steve and half shrugged. "If we can talk to her … and Captain America is pushing for it, it's gotta be okay …"

The three of them didn't go far before they were met by Tony Stark, who looked strained at seeing them. "Yeah, you're not going anywhere until you've gone through a scanner."

"What the hell are you talkin' about," Logan growled out as Tony pointed to a doorway.

"Tracers, bugs, implants - you name it, I'm not having it in my facility and  _you_ , Mister heals-faster-than-anyone-can-keep-up-with - you might be carrying something that will lead those lowlife creeps right to my facility so just … Go. Make sure you're not the reason that we had to chase you across half the continental United States," Tony said in an even meter, perfectly stone cold serious the whole way through.

"The tracer was in the duffel bag," Logan said through his teeth.

"Well lets be sure that there isn't another one in a little harder spot to fish out then," Tony replied defiantly, chin up and looking down his nose.

Logan began to growl, glaring at him, though he couldn't ignore the fact that there was a spot at his shoulder that had been sore - and he wasn't about to go digging. He was sure it was a bullet but … " _fine._ "

He took a sharp turn into the room Stark was gesturing toward and before Scott could consider it, Steve reluctantly steered him in after Logan.

The room was nothing but white tile and stainless steel - though the metal was the more prevalent item there. "Stand on the mark in the center of the room, please," Tony called out as he strode across the room and out, waving Scott and Steve along with him. "One rider at a time."

The doors on both sides of the room closed and sealed and Logan would have been lying if he'd said he wasn't nervous. Just the way the place looked was enough to have his teeth on edge and a growl straining to jump from his lips. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing, barely hearing the suggestions from Stark on how to stand and to hold his arms out.

Logan had no idea how long he stood there while the sound of tight mechanical whirring echoed the room, though he was sure that it was simply much louder to him than it should have been to anyone else.

* * *

Inside the room adjacent, Scott could clearly see how incredibly uneasy Logan was, and he was in favor of just nixing the scan - until Stark tapped the screen. "Right there. I see at least … three metallic objects that should not be there. You know … aside from the … entire. Skeleton - how is that even possible?"

"Don't worry about that, Tony," Steve said as he leaned closer to the screen. "That's not what we're here for."

Tony nodded and swore under his breath before he sat back and crossed his arms. "Which … that's all fine and good, but those don't look like tracers of any origin I've ever seen."

"What are they then?" Scott asked, frowning at the whole situation.

"Look like bullets," Steve answered and a moment later, Tony snapped his fingers and pointed at Steve.

"Exactly. So now the question comes to bear - how does one remove bullets from a man that burns out drugs as quickly as he does?" He expanded the view on Logan's arms. "And … carries knives, a chip on his shoulder, and a deep distrusting paranoia with him everywhere he goes?"

Steve tipped his head to the side and shrugged. "I guess you tell him what the situation is and let him decide."

"K can do it," Scott said suddenly.

"Is that … the secret agent you two were hanging around?" Tony asked, turning his head Scott's direction. "Because I have a few questions on that one."

"She's the one who saved us from the Department," Scott insisted with his arms crossed.

"Be that as it may, she … doesn't exactly show up on anyone's databases," Tony told him. "I'm running facial recognition now, with a little luck, she'll show up somewhere." He leaned forward and hit the switch to open the door to the control room. "Alright - switch!" Tony called out, and there was no hesitation for Logan to bolt out of the room.

"Is it really necessary to make the boy do that?" Logan asked, still scowling. "If he had something like that there'd be an injury."

"True," Tony said slowly. "But … that doesn't mean they don't have a microscopic tracker … which you don't - but you might want to see someone about the three bullets." He tapped the screen that still showed where they were - from three different angles.

Logan's scowl dropped back slightly and he shook his head. "I'll take care of it."

"I told them K knows how to deal with that," Scott said, tipping his head Logan's way. "Really helpful."

Logan nodded. "That she does." he drew in a breath and narrowed his eyes. "She can get the right angle and I won't kill her."

"Is … that a low key threat to the doctors in this building?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothin' low-key about it," Logan shot back.

Scott looked between the three men before he stepped toward the door. "So I'll just… do this really fast and we can go find her."

"Painless process," Tony promised with a little smile. "We'll get you to the new girl once we make sure everything is on the up and up." He shooed Scott with both hands and reset the screen, though for Scott, he didn't bother locking down the control booth to do the scan.

Scott's scan only took a few minutes- much less complicated without the metal skeleton interfering like Logan's.

"All clean!" Stark called out from the booth. "So let's get you two cleaned up and in some new clothes. No rock t-shirts, I promise."

"I appreciate that, but we should get K to help with the bullets first. No reason to ruin two shirts," Scott reasoned.

Tony couldn't help but smile at that. "Is she that pretty, Scott? Can't wait to get back to her?"

"If it weren't for her, we'd be who-knows-where. I'd probably be dead. So you tell me."

"You're not answering my question," Tony said, smirking to himself. "I haven't been down to see for myself yet."

Scott gestured with one arm. "Fine. Come with us. Let's go right now and you tell me."

Tony slapped both hands on his knees as he pushed back from the controls. "Food first - let the computers do their work and then once we can get a name to go with the face - or some kind of record anywhere, I'll bring her to you myself."

Scott looked toward Logan, who didn't look too happy with the response. He bit his lip and shook his head. "She can eat with us," he decided. He gestured around the place. "What's the problem? You think she's going to be that much of a problem in SHIELD custody?"

Tony tipped his head to the side and narrowed his eyes for an instant. "Well - if the name attached is a letter and not an actual name, then there could be a lot that could happen. The fact of the matter is that until fairly recently there have been big trouble with operatives that only worked with a letter. So. Let us do our job, and when we clear this person you can be reunited."

Again, Tony gestured for them to leave the room, and Steve led the way, though it was clear he wasn't exactly thrilled with the whole situation, particularly how negatively his old friend and his son were reacting to Tony's basic protocols. "I won't let her get stuck here," Steve said quietly enough that he knew Logan would hear it, though he wasn't expecting the dry look that Logan gave him in response.

When the little group of them stepped through a set of double doors, the entire decor of the building shifted into something much more comfortable. Wood lined walls, carpeted floors .. a regular poshly styled 'home'. And by the time they reached the dining room, it was clear that most of the complex was buried into the side of a rocky outcropping.

But before Scott could really form any kind of opinion on it, he was nearly tackled by Janet Van Dyne. "We got the signal!" She said as she hugged him tightly. "And then you just … You were supposed to stay in one spot!"

Scott was totally stunned by the enthusiastic hug as he slowly returned it. "We, uh, were trying not to get caught by the bad guys," he pointed out. "Nice to see you too."

"What bad guys? We didn't see any Department activity where your beacon went off," she said, frowning his way as she fussed over his hair. "We thought they'd snagged you and run off but … no Department agents there either."

"Right." He nodded and batted her hand away. "Well, when I called you, it was just the one guy." He looked toward Captain America. "Sabretooth."

Steve swore and looked irritated, but Logan held up a hand. "He never got close to me - but he had a hold of her. If she was on the other side, he wouldn't have been draggin' her off," Logan told him.

"He said he wanted all three of us - so you tell me," Scott added, looking Steve's way. "She's saved our lives and the bad guys want her."

"That … doesn't mean she's not on the wrong side," Tony said. "Just that he couldn't play without permission."

"I trust her," Scott insisted.

"No offense, kiddo, but the opinion of a  _kid_ doesn't really carry much water," Tony pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm only good for dressing up in band shirts and playing bait," Scott shot back with some real heat.

Tony let out a breath. "That's not what I meant," he said.

"That's what you said."

"Then I apologize for not being more clear," Tony said, holding Scott's gaze. "I only meant that someone of your age can't have had nearly the kinds of life experiences needed when dealing with super secret double dipped no-file operatives that move under cover of darkness and answer to a letter."

Scott didn't blink or hesitate in his response. "No, I guess spending my formative years in a place that experiments on kids without files or any oversight or people using their real names makes me pretty  _sheltered._ "

"Okay," Janet said, breaking the silence that echoed the room. "Tony is just a little bit paranoid about that organization, he's been digging into them and he's just … he's trying to be careful. How about we get you something to eat and then we'll shake down whoever we need to get you to see your friend?"

Scott held Tony's gaze for a moment longer before he finally turned Janet's way. "I'm not hungry," he said. "And if you think my dad isn't paranoid about these people - that he'd spend  _any_ time with K if he thought for a second she was one of them - you don't understand what's going on here."

As he glared Tony's way, Logan rested one hand on his shoulder and gave him a little squeeze. "Just get a rush on it, Stark," Logan said. "We want our partner back. Now."

Tony looked frustrated - and more than a little irritated as he looked from the two of them to the windows and started to pace. "You know what, fine. I'll go tell Coulson to get a wiggle on - get him to take you down if that's what you really want to do. I'm just trying to keep things secure."

He looked between the two of them with his hands on his hips before he stalked off - but not down the halls that they'd just gone down.

"Coulson will bring you to her - or her to you," Janet said quietly.

Scott glanced at Logan and then let his shoulders relax slightly. "Thanks."


	36. Super Secret Agent

It was still a solid hour after they'd gone through the scans before Coulson showed up with that irritatingly sedate expression on his face. "If you'd be so kind as to follow me," he said, his hands at his sides, and only pausing for a moment before he started to move again.

Logan was on his trail in an instant, his claws itching for a fight with every single set of doors that they passed through. Scott was striding fast to keep up, and neither of them missed the fact that security seemed to get more and more eerie and impressive the further they got into the sublevels of the building until finally Coulson stopped in front of a plain looking door.

"We haven't finished our security clearances," Coulson told them. "But I assure you, I'm pulling every favor I have to get her out of here faster. Until then though … you can  _see_ her for yourself." He held their gazes one by one before he opened the door for them and held it open as they passed by. Coulson stepped in after them and it was apparent right away that they were in a hidden room behind one way glass - and K was on the other side simply sitting on a cot with her knees drawn up to her chest.

Logan looked as if he was holding his breath when he saw the setup. "I want in," he said, but Coulson gestured to the chair nearest Logan, and it was apparent that for the immediate future, all was able to do was pull out a chair and take a seat.

"I can't let you in yet," Coulson said. "But as you can see - she is at the very least safe." He set a small device on the table near Logan, one red light glowing on it. "And between just us? I want her out as much as you do. I just have to find a way to do it in the protocols since so many bells were triggered between the department's raid, the damage done at the attempted abduction site, and then of course - in such close conjunction to the panic button - basically, all of the flags were thrown up at once."

"None of that was her," Scott said quickly. "That - that was all my fault."

But Coulson shook his head. "No, you don't seem to understand," Coulson said. "I put her there. I had her hidden. She's not showing any records within SHIELD because I made sure that they don't exist. If something happened, she was supposed to disappear with her contact. But that didn't happen."

"That was also my fault," Scott insisted.

"I can assure you, Mr. Summers, the chances of all of this being an accident - you two going to that area to hide so close to where I had her hidden off record? Next to nothing. Fury suspects. And so you know, if she didn't want to get you out of there, she would not have. If she wanted to shrug off her contact, that was going to happen too."

"Then it sounds like you already know her. So you're holding yourself up," Scott pointed out.

"There is a lot in play here - and most of it doesn't have a thing to do with me personally," Coulson said. "But I can promise you that there is no way that I'm going to stand by and allow her to be locked up by SHIELD or anyone else."

Logan had dropped his gaze to the floor partway through Coulson's explanation, and though Scott looked as if he wasn't sure how to take that, Logan was positive he knew exactly what that meant. "It's not entirely a compliment," Logan said. "If SHIELD has her, then she's in the system and that means the Department can find her."

"That … also is true," Coulson said with a nod. "I've already rerouted Stark's search protocols. I don't want them fishing for her. Particularly when the call to arms was specifically for just the two of you." Coulson let out a breath and leaned against the table. "Against all reason, her cover was intact, and as far as I can see the only thing that's keeping it like that is Victor Creed keeping his mouth shut."

"That won't last," Logan said flatly.

"You might just be surprised," Coulson replied. He reached over to pick up the device, turning it off before he stuck it back in his suit pocket and then he gestured to the glass. "You have a little time. The glass will absorb vibrations, so … I'm afraid this is as close as we can get right now."

"When do we get to go in - or get her out?" Logan asked, frowning as he watched her sitting almost perfectly still.

"I don't know that yet," Coulson replied. "I'll be back in a little while to take you back topside."

Logan nodded and settled in - though he reached over to pull the other chair out for Scott. He waited for Coulson to leave them alone before he spoke up. "What do you think?"

Scott took a long, deep breath as he weighed it out. "I think… she got us out. And I trust her. And I'm not going to leave her like  _this_ ," he said, gesturing to the window, where K was still seated very quietly.

"I was thinking more about the how," Logan said. "Weighin' out trusting Cap and giving it a chance or just … poppin' my claws and tearing through that glass right now." He tipped his chin down and narrowed his eyes. "Pretty sure we could fight our way out easy enough."

He drew in a breath and leaned back. "Of course … then we won't have any back up if they catch up again." Logan finally broke his focus from K to turn toward Scott. "I'm not leavin' you vulnerable like that. Especially if you're on the list now."

"So," Scott said, tipping his head to the side. "We wait, I guess."

"Don't see any other way right now," Logan agreed.

Nothing changed - not in the cell or out of it for a long while, and when Coulson returned to take them back to the more 'civil' side of the building, both Logan and Scott looked reluctant to leave, but it was clear that they wouldn't be able to stick around.

"She'll be asked a few questions, and once she cooperates and answers them - and … goes through the scanner … I'll make sure she gets back to you."

Scott waited until they were a little further out before he turned to Logan. "How long do we wait before we go to Plan B?" he asked.

Logan smirked at that. "Probably gonna have to just follow our gut on this one," Logan replied quietly. "So anywhere from a few minutes to a day or two. Depending."

"That… is a pretty wide range," Scott said with a frown.

"All comes down to them," Logan said, keeping his gaze down the hall they were walking in. "For instance … a bunch of soldiers not wearing any identification dropping in and shoving guns in our faces didn't really scream 'friendly' to me, so if I see anything like that … it's gonna be a lot sooner."

Scott nodded and then chewed on his lower lip for a moment. "I'm sorry about the panic button," he said.

"Don't be," Logan said. "If it wasn't for that, we would have kept going with that bug in the bag."

"No, we found it after Sabretooth," Scott insisted. "Between the three of us, we had a handle on it. And I  _thought_ I was calling the Avengers. Not…." He gestured around the halls.

"Sabretooth was following the tracer," Logan pointed out. "That came from the department. If we'd stopped long enough, we'd have had a full unit coming in - and probably Creed too."

"Even after ditching the tracer?"

"Wouldn't have looked for it if Creed hadn't jumped her."

Scott looked frustrated. "That's what I'm  _saying_ ," he insisted. "We dealt with him; we found the tracer. We didn't  _need_ the backup - if you can call getting shoved around and dragged off to a helicopter backup," he grumbled.

"Ditching Sabretooth ain't all that easy," Logan said. "He's good. He'd have found us and if we'd ticked him off enough, he'd have sent the department for kicks."

"In all fairness," Coulson said. "You would have gotten SHIELD anyhow. The Avengers were preoccupied at the time dealing with an attack on their headquarters. Which … is in large part why there is such a high level of paranoia operating here. And … why we're … here rather than there. The bulk of SHIELD is going through the details of that attack right now. Which is why it's so quiet and no one is paying close attention to such a low-level scan."

Coulson gave them that same tight smile before he tipped his head and stepped off into one of the rooms that had to be used as an office and Janet met them not two doors down with a grin.

"Is everything okay? Did you find her?" Janet asked, walking backwards to face the two of them. "I can show you to your room unless you want to wait for Jarvis." It was clear she was speaking to Scott, and it was only accentuated when Logan tipped his head up slightly and scented out the air before he turned quite suddenly, taking his own path.

Scott frowned after him for a moment before he turned back to Janet. "Yeah, we got to see her," he said, gesturing for her to lead the way. "Just waiting for them to finish talking to her. Thanks."

Janet smiled warmly at him before she beamed and took him by the arm to lead him off to the room.

Logan had, of course headed off to find Steve and find out what it was that he knew that no one wanted to say. He had his suspicions of course, most of them revolving around Fury and his interest in getting Logan to work for him. He had to wonder if he was the only one the director had approached, all things considered.

But Steve didn't have any solid answers for him, and he was resistant to even approach Fury on the subject. "If he doesn't know much about her, then she's probably better off," Steve admitted. "Especially after this attack we had in the city. He's going to be looking for someone that can go toe to toe with a Russian spy and some crazy archer.."

Logan frowned at him and shook his head. "You gotta quit makin' up stories, Cap."

* * *

It was almost twenty four hours since she'd woken up in captivity before anyone came to talk with K again. When Clay Quartermain knocked on the door and stepped in with a small stack of clothes for her, she only looked up at him without moving her head. She had moved very little since she'd woken up in the room, and she still didn't believe that this wasn't the Department. All things considered.

Of course, the lack of harsh treatment spoke to this being someone else, but it wouldn't be the first time that Canada had done something that  _seemed_ reasonable just to twist it into something awful.

"Go ahead and get changed and cleaned up," Quartermain said with an easy smile. "Don't worry - I won't watch or anything. I'm just here to take you to go see a couple people who have been giving my boys headaches all day insisting they won't go anywhere without you."

"That's not very comforting," K replied quietly, though she did unfold herself to take the clothes. "How long do I have?" She didn't wait for the answer to get started, moving quickly to at least change, sure that she didn't want to deal with more than that right that moment.

"Pretty sure it's not polite to rush a lady."

K stopped and turned his way for a moment before she pulled the shirt over her head, "I'm not sure that's something your type usually calls me," she said before she hurried through the rest of it. "But I do appreciate  _you_ allowing a little modesty. No telling on whoever's behind the mirror though, right?" She pulled her hair out of the back of the shirt she'd pulled on and then smoothed the fabric over her stomach. "Okay. Now what?" She gestured out with both hands. "Cuffs? Where's your back up?"

"You can get cleaned up," Quartermain said, gesturing her way. "Really. None of my boys're going to sneak a peek."

She frowned a little deeper at that. "If it's all the same to you, Mister Agent, I want to get out of this room."

"Fine by me; you're the one that has to sit in the sweat and smell like this room and I know for a fact the heating system smells like pickles."

"If you kept people out of the ventilation system you wouldn't have that problem," she replied.

"Yeah, I  _could_ , but then what would the green agents do with their time?" Quartermain chuckled as he opened the door. "Actually go on missions instead of getting rescued from the vents?"

"Im sure you can come up with something worthwhile. Send them for a board stretcher. Round doorstop …automatic hammer … always something."

Quartermain smirked at that as he led the way down the halls, though he didn't really comment on it until they were much closer to where the rest of the group was.

With no cuffs offered to her, she wasn't sure what to do with her hands and she quickly started hugging herself just to be able to show she wasn't a threat. For now. "Where are we?" K asked as they got closer to another set of double doors.

"Secure SHIELD facility," Quartermain said.

"SHIELD." She slowed, her heart racing as she started to look around them a bit more closely.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention and Enforcement Logistics Division."

"Yeah, I know what it stands for," she said. "I'm just not used to seeing them this … warm."

Quartermain smirked and paused at the door to offer her his hand. "Clay Quartermain," he said.

She glanced from his smile to the offered hand before she very carefully took his hand to shake, More than a little surprised to see that he was still being a gentleman. "A pleasure to meet you," she replied.

His smirk turned into a smile before he keyed in the code for the door and gestured for her to go ahead. "Go on - wouldn't be surprised if the kid tackled you the way he's been going on."

"Is this some … gauntlet thing I should be aware of?" she asked before she would step out of the door.

"If you consider hugs a gauntlet, sure. To each his own, I guess."

"Depends on who's giving them," she said before she held a breath and stepped out, clearly half expecting something awful to happen. "Thanks. I think," she called out as she started down the hallway slowly. She was obviously nervous - and she was almost afraid to blink and miss something as she very slowly went down the hall, her hands at her side as she strained her ears. But it wasn't long before she heard Scott talking in one of the rooms to her right, and after she looked the door over carefully, she pushed it open and stepped inside, where Scott was discussing … something or another with a bright eyed dark haired young woman.

But whatever the conversation was about, Scott completely abandoned it when he looked up and saw her and very quickly broke into a grin to rush over to her to give her a solid hug.

She let out a relieved breath as she returned the hug. "Hey, Caramel Mocha, I'm surprised you're here," she said.

"What, you didn't think I was going to leave you alone, did you?" he asked.

"Wouldn't be surprised if you had a chance to run," she replied.

He shook his head. "No way," he promised.

"Then I take it you're with these guys?" K asked when he finally let up on the hug a little bit.

He tipped his head toward the young woman he'd been talking to. "Sort of," he said. "I  _thought_ I was calling the Avengers. You know, like Wasp?" He gestured to Wasp as he said it.

K's eyebrows went up at that and she turned toward Janet, who was waving the tips of her fingers. "Right. New superhero team," K said, nodding. "Mazel tov."

"Are the clothes okay?" Janet asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I did my best guessing your sizes and I really wanted you to look nice - OH! Before you get too far, I'm supposed to direct you to Tony's scanner. He's worried about bugs and tracers."

K shook her head at that. "If he wanted me scanned, it would have happened while I was out. Not happening now." Her tone was one of finality, and even as she shook her head, Janet tipped her head to the side.

"You know what … he probably did and is just being a pain," she agreed with a nod. "Or he just wanted to see how you'd react to it." Janet shook her head and waved it off quickly. "Anyhow. The guys are in the dining room. Plotting or planning or … whatever it is they like to do."

K frowned and turned toward Scott in a silent question before Janet blurted out who she meant. "Steve, Tony, and Logan. Of course. I'm just used to people coming in here knowing who they're dealing with. Even the uninvited ones."

"I'll take you down there," Scott offered, leading the way down the hall before he opened the door where the three men had their heads together, figuratively speaking, as they discussed what the latest intel suggested.

As soon as their presence was noted, all three men got to their feet and Scott began introducing them, though K was looking at Steve strangely - and moreso after he spoke, clearly putting things together before Scott finished his introduction. She shook his hand, and kept her thoughts to herself until her attention was drawn by Tony.

"Well," Tony said as he took her hand and smirked to himself. "Scotty didn't do you justice. I suppose I should have known something was off when you managed to recruit Coulson onto your side too."

K let out a little breath and relaxed on hearing that. "Phil's a lot smarter than he likes to let on."

Tony smiled a little wider as he pulled on her hand to get her to go along with him to his side of the table, then pulled a chair out next to him with his free hand. "He plays it pretty close to the vest," Tony said as soon as they'd both sat down, resting his chin in his hand and leaning toward her. "Never know what that guy is up to. How … exactly do you know him?"

"Professionally." K gave him a little smile and shifted in her chair to face him better. "So when do we get a move on? I'd like to get away from whatever this place is." She looked over to Logan, waiting to see if he had some kind of an opinion, though he looked like he was wrapped up talking to Steve.

"Temporarily or more long term?" Tony asked.

"That's up to Scott and Logan, I think," she replied. "If I'm still travelling with them."

"Of course you are," Scott said with a little frown. "If you still want to."

"Temporary reprieve then," Tony said quickly. "Couple hours away from the base."

"Hold that thought," K said slowly, watching Tony grin before she turned back to Scott. "Of course I want to stick with you if you two want me around. I just have no idea where to go at this point."

"You have plenty of time to figure that out," Steve said suddenly, cutting in before Tony split his face in half grinning. "We've still got intel pouring in, and to ease your mind, miss, you're not in any of the chatter."

She glanced between the gathered men and visibly relaxed into her chair. "Small miracles."

"But - that also means that you'd be a serious help in keeping us hidden," Scott pointed out to her. "Since they're looking for a father-son pair."

She turned his way with a fond smile and entirely missed the  _look_ that Tony gave him. "That sounds great to me," K agreed. "As soon as we get a destination."

Scott gestured to Logan. "I'll leave that up to you two. I don't really have a preference."

Logan looked up at him and then toward K and Tony. "Hate to admit it, darlin', but we need more intel first."

"You'd be smart to stay for a week anyhow," Steve agreed. "But I'm sure Jarvis can make sure you're all close, room-wise."

"Maybe not  _too_ close," Tony said with a troublemaking smile, though Scott tried to put an end to the flirting fast.

"As long as Janet picks the clothes," Scott said half under his breath.

"She's pretty close with the sizes," K said softly, turning his way. "Legs were a little long … but that's hard to avoid when you're as short as I am."

For the time being, the conversation stuck between Scott and K while Steve and Logan had their own chat. Tony could have joined in with the two men at any time - but instead, he turned to listen to what Scott had to say about the clothes, shadowing K next to her as he tried to rile Scott.

"What was wrong with what I picked? Really," Tony asked with a smirk. "Looked good on you."

"I looked like a weird adult's version of what he thinks teenagers should dress like," Scott said without turning his way as he leaned over to K. "I couldn't find anything that didn't look like a mid-life crisis."

K grinned broadly at him and couldn't help but chuckle. "Then I'm going to formally request right now that only Janet brings me things to wear."

"That's what I was warning you about," Scott agreed with a nod.

"I have a feeling it might be worse though," she said before she couldn't help but shoot a grin Tony's way. "No offense, but I doubt your midlife crisis would look the same on me. Little bit different thoughts on what I should wear, I'm sure."

"Hey. Let's get something straight right now, I am not that old," Tony said, sounding almost serious.

"My point still stands," K argued before she pushed her chair back, nearly bumping into Tony as she got up. "Come on, Caramel Mocha. You can show me around. Where I need to avoid to keep away from lasers, all that nonsense."

She put her arm around Scott's shoulders and let him lead the way out, which really was the perfect cue for Steve to rebound a wadded up piece of paper off of Tony's head. "Hey. We have things we need to focus on here …"

"I absolutely agree," Tony said before slowly turning back to the two men. "It's just the subject matter we're disagreeing on."


	37. Mr. Stark

After Scott showed her around, K had a hard time getting to sleep that night. She knew Scott wasn't lying, and she knew that Logan wouldn't misdirect her, but she also knew that Logan was anxious, and it was pretty clear that even though he at least partially trusted these people, he still wanted to get out. Fast.

So when it was apparent that she wasn't going to be sleeping, K wrapped the flannel shirt around her new pajamas, slipped on a pair of soft socks and silently padded down the hall toward the kitchen. No one was around and aside from the usual ambient sounds of any household, the place was silent.

K took just a moment to take stock of where everything was before she started up a pot of coffee. If she couldn't sleep, she could at least have some kind of comfort in some java.

She was well into her third cup, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, when she heard someone coming down the hall. For an instant, her pulse picked up, not sure of who it might be, or what the consequences were if she was out of her rack - no … this was a house. Out of bed. If she was out of her  _room_ before it was socially acceptable. K held her breath as she waited for the approaching person to appear and when it was Tony, she simply waited to see how he'd handle things. But she had to smirk at his response to seeing her there.

"This definitely wasn't the date or late night rendezvous with you that I had in mind," Tony said as he made his way over and got a mug to pour himself some coffee.

"I wasn't aware I was allowed out of the house," K replied, simply going back to her coffee, though she missed the smile that Tony was wearing when she didn't flat turn him down.

"Why not?" he asked, leaning against the counter and watching her carefully. "They're the ones on lock down. You're off the radar, so I'm told. No reason you can't get out … stretch your legs, have a good time."

She smiled toward her coffee cup before she glanced up to catch his gaze. "I'm reasonably sure that going out anywhere with  _you_ would wreck that entirely," K pointed out. "But it's a sweet offer."

"Sweet nothing," Tony said before he kicked off from where he was leaning against the counter to lean on the table next to her. "Come on. Let's go do something. No press. No cameras. Just you and me. Believe me, I know how to avoid them if I want to."

"Yeah?" K said, one eyebrow raised in challenge. "Prove it."

"Come with me and I will," he said with a crooked smirk.

But she shook her head lightly at that. "No dice, Romeo. Prove it first."

Tony smiled outright at that. "That's your condition? Prove that I can avoid cameras and you'll go have a little fun?"

She was entirely sure that it wasn't going to happen, so she shrugged lightly. "Yeah. Why not."

He grinned wider and pointed a finger her way. "I'm taking that as a promise, missie."

"Alright, that's fine," K said, nodding. "Of course, I'll probably be long gone by then…"

"No, no," Tony said, already heading out of the kitchen. "Watch the news - there will be no live sightings of me today, and tonight? Well. Tell Jan you'll need something high brow."

"Awfully optimistic of you, Mr. Stark," K said, lifting her mug to her lips.

"Yes. and also right," Tony called out before he stepped into the hall, leaving K shaking her head.

With a sigh, she refilled her mug, turned off the coffee maker and headed back down the hall to her room. If nothing else, the entertainment was good.

* * *

By morning, K had honestly forgotten about the little fiasco at three in the morning with Stark, and she was simply enjoying the company she had in Scott and Logan, though neither of them had much to say as they sat down at breakfast.

Of course it wasn't too long before others began to show up, and in short order, Jan was trying to get Scott to engage in conversation and K was simply sitting next to Logan watching and listening to the conversation he was deeply involved in with Steve.

The two of them sounded like old friends, and K found herself simply enjoying the back and forth between them. Little inside jokes, shared experiences that came through in the manner in which both men spoke.

But it wasn't too long before Steve tipped his head her way and got to his feet. Logan turned and gave her a little smirk. "You got anything to do, or did you want to take a look at the intel as it came in with us?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, you boys go ahead, I hate to interrupt a good thing when I see it," K replied, though that only got Logan's smirk to stretch out a bit.

"Come on by if you change your mind. I'd like to see you tear up Cap's strategy," Logan told her with a low little growl.

She bit her lip and grinned at him before she nodded her agreement. "Alright then. See you later."

He gave her a little wink before he stood up and headed out in Steve's wake. "Glad to have you back, Darlin'."

K shook her head and turned in time to see Scott with a little smirk. His conversation with Janet was obviously over, and the young man had very little to do, from the look of things. "You got any big plans?"

Scott shook his head lightly. "Not yet. Janet was going to get me set up with clothes. Again."

K watched him for a moment and went back to her coffee. "I'm all kinds of messed up - between being used to west coast time zone and the whole - dart. Thing. I think I'm going to just go and try to relax."

She got to her feet gingerly and as she passed him, she couldn't help but ruffle his hair affectionately on her way by.

Scott smirked, ducking his head down belatedly in an attempt to save his hair, then smoothed it out as best he could, still smiling as he gathered up his things and headed for the kitchen. Though he could hear the conversation before he got there and he didn't like it at all.

"... I told her to tell you," Tony was saying. "She doesn't think I can do it." He laughed under his breath and his tone dropped a bit. "Seriously, Jan. Just do me this favor. You know her sizes. We're going out tonight - find her something appropriate - your discretion. I swear I won't complain."

"I don't know Tony," Janet was saying. "What if you're wrong? Not like she's going to have a use for something like you're talking about."

"Come on," Tony said, almost scoffing. "Every girl needs a pretty dress, right? Come on, Jan, for me. Please?"

There was a long moment of silence before Scott heard Janet cave - the prospects of finding something for a woman was just that much more interesting than just what the guys needed. Especially when the guys had guidelines she had to follow, and Tony was obviously asking for something more to Janet's tastes. "Oh … fine," Janet breathed out. "But if she gets mad, I'm telling her to hit you."

"Beautiful. You're just beautiful," Tony said, clearly beaming - and only then did Scott see him when he darted forward to kiss Janet's cheek, getting a little squeak of a laugh from her before he left the room out the opposite door.

Scott waited for just a moment before he stepped into the kitchen to put away his dish and glass, though he couldn't help but frown deeper at the conversation that he'd over heard.

He knew it wasn't any of his business what K did with her time. Or Tony. They were adults, and he really didn't have any claim on K outside of having known her anyway.

And leaving aside the fact that he didn't care for Tony's arrogance and the way he pushed his tastes and his opinions on people, the guy  _was_ an Avenger, so that had to count for something.

It was just that Tony … didn't seem like her type.

No, that wasn't it.

It was that Scott had been selfishly enjoying the dynamic between the three of them - him and his dad and K. He liked having her around. Logan seemed to like having her around. And it wasn't like he was asking for a  _mom_ when he knew he was flat-out lucky to even have  _one_ parent for how old he was when Logan adopted him. He just… didn't want K to end up staying with the Avengers while he and Logan moved on. It wouldn't feel the same with just two of them, not after all they'd been through together.

Not that he had any say in it.

He let out a breath and reminded himself again that it wasn't his business and that he really didn't have a say in what K did with her personal life before he left to find… something to do, not that there was exactly that much that was teenager-friendly around the place. He ended up settling on simply finding a TV and sitting down, not really paying much attention to the programming but trying to get used to the idea of  _not_ having K around...

Meanwhile, K had gotten restless trying to relax when she knew the guys were deciding what it was that they were going to do next - or where they would GO next. She was stretched out on her bed and staring at the ceiling, trying to decide what to do - when she realized that she wasn't going to be able to relax, and she honestly couldn't stop wondering what Logan and Steve were finding.

She tapped her fingers on the bed and bit her bottom lip, trying to hang back since she knew Logan had wanted more  _space_ when they were on the road. Even if he was starting to flirt a little bit … he probably just didn't like seeing the takedown the way it had gone down.

"Dammit," she muttered under her breath before she got up and headed down the hall, following Logan's scent to where he and Steve were putting their heads together. She stayed in the doorway just for a moment, watching the two of them strategizing until Logan glanced up at her.

"Come and take a look," he said with a little smirk. "Gettin' a few options for you to pick from."

"For  _me_ to pick from?" K said as she stepped into the room, her arms crossed in front of her loosely. "I thought it was a joint decision."

Logan nodded once and waved her over. "Come on, take a look."

Both he and Steve were standing up straight as she approached, and when she got near enough, Logan rested a hand on her shoulder to steer her to stand closer. "Here's what they're up to anyhow. Northwest and most spots along the border are shot, not that it's any kind of a shock."

"What is interesting though is that they seem to be lining up on the Mexican border too - do you have ties in Central America?" Steve asked, and K quickly shook her head 'no' as she looked over the map. It was pretty apparent that they were trying to cut off any escape into the world at large.

"What about airports?" K asked, looking up at Steve, who smirked and shook his head.

"Kind of hard to get around metal detectors for you two," he said with a smirk.

The little trio was just getting involved in their plotting and planning, and reasonably discussing the possibilities when Tony came in and set a tall latte in front of K with a grin. "What's this?" she asked, pushing the strand of hair behind her ear as she straightened up and picked up the coffee.

"Proof." Tony was smirking crookedly as he raised his own coffee.

"So … this … is a coffee date then?" she asked before she crinkled her nose a bit at the scent of the overly roasted beans.

"No. This … is proof that I can go out, do things, get several things done - and  _still_ not be photographed." He gestured to the tv screen in the corner. "You'd know if I was wrong because … well. I don't buy coffee for anyone but me when I'm out and about."

"So … you just raised suspicions on yourself," K decided. "Nice. Not the move I'd take but … to each their own."

"No, see - that was the deal. I've been out and about all morning," Tony said. "My point has been made." He took a few steps toward the door. "I'll see you at seven. Jan should have something pulled together by then."

"Alright," she said, shaking her head before she tried to get into the coffee. It wasn't as good as she'd have made it - or Scott for that matter, but … maybe east coast coffee drinkers weren't quite as sophisticated with their coffee palate.

"What was that?" Steve blurted out, when it was clear that K was ready to just go back to their planning.

K looked up, not at all expecting the expressions of disbelief on both of their faces. "What?"

"Stark," Steve said, not hiding his disapproval at all, though Logan was just … watching her.

"He caught me early this morning," K replied. "I couldn't sleep. I headed to the kitchen for coffee … and apparently he was passing through."

"And?" Logan said, which only set K back a bit.

"And … he said I should get out of the house. It was a stupid little bet," she said, waving it off. "Didn't think I needed permission from the committee."

"I thought you were trying to fly under the radar," Steve said, crossing his arms.

"And I thought you said I was in the clear," K countered. "It's one stupid little date. And the first whiff I get of a camera man, I'm going to kidney punch him and slip off."

"Come back here," Steve said. "Please."

"Yes, Dad," K said with her nose scrunched up. "I honestly don't see what the big deal is. It's one. Non public, no pressure date."

"You clearly don't know much about Stark," Steve muttered, but that only got a glare from K.

"You'd be surprised about what I know, Cap," K shot back with a little growl. "Mind your own business." She picked up her latte and headed out of the room, though she only got to the kitchen before she stopped her march and headed to the sink to dump out the latte. "Awful," she muttered. "Scott did better his first try."

She brushed her hands off after she tossed the paper cup and then started toward her room. She couldn't figure out why on earth Steve was so worked up. It was all friendly fun. She was just short of her room when she realized that the door was open, and when she peeked inside, Janet was there, laying out several options.

"Oh, good! I was hoping to catch you," Janet said with a grin. "I wasn't sure what you and Tony had in mind ... " she stopped and looked like she wanted to say something, but quickly shook her head and pushed by it with a clearly put on grin. "... so I found a few options. Do you know what you're doing?"

K tipped her head to the side and watched her for a moment. "Are you asking in general, in regards to Tony - or whatever he's got lined up for this little outing?"

Janet let out a little laugh at that. "Well that answers my question," she said. "If you don't know what he has planned then I guess it'll come down to what you like best. I have super trendy - which, is I think, a little bit flashy." She pointed to a very modern looking dress that K outright cringed at. Too loud of colors. The cut was not one that would flatter anyone, either, but when Janet saw her reaction, she just giggled and moved on to the next one.

"I didn't think that looked like your kind of thing," Janet said before she rearranged to show off a slinky half-see through number.

"No," K said, turning it down flat before Janet could begin to go through the higher points. "Just no."

"That's fine, I thought I'd save that one myself for a saucy kind of evening out," Janet said rolling one shoulder up to her ear. "It's very high fashion right now."

"Well I'm glad to be of assistance, or excuse … whatever," K said before she walked closer to the last two selections. One was an icy blue, the other black - but the black one was obviously the one Janet liked least - half buried under the colorful dresses.

"The blue one is one of the newest out from Lagerfeld …"

"I like the black," K said as she picked it up. It was almost like a summer dress - fitted around the torso but gently flared out with a fabric that was cut on the bias. "Classic. Simple. Most flattering."

"So you're a classics kind of girl," Janet said with an approving nod. "That … was inspired by an old Chanel design - I know the designer of this one."

K smirked and nodded. "Must be why I like it," she muttered to herself before she thanked Janet for going through all the trouble.

"Oh, no trouble at all. I got a load of jeans and simple clothes for you too - Scott said you were a more laid back kind of girl, so …"

K couldn't help but smile. "He's a good kid," she said fondly, and that got Janet grinning.

"Okay, but you have to let me help you," Janet said. "Let me do your hair."

"I'm not going all out," K insisted. "But if you want to let me borrow a little makeup …"

"Oh, I got all of that for you," Janet said, rushing across the room to pull out yet another bag from the stack that K just now realized Janet had next to the dresser. For just a moment, the two women stared at each other and finally Jan shrugged up both shoulders. "Okay … so I might have gone a teensy bit overboard? But in my defense, the only people I've been  _allowed_ to shop for are Logan and Scott - and both of them have pretty specific and strict guidelines of what they'll wear."

Janet looked both ways before she closed the gap between them. "Honestly," she whispered. "The stuff Tony picked out for him wasn't horrible. It just … wasn't Scott."

"What was it?" K had to ask, already highly entertained.

"Rock tees and blue jeans that were probably a little tighter than Scott liked."

At that, K had to laugh. "Oh, that's just great. Kid went to a concert and I gave him cash and told him to get a tee. That's just … perfect." She had to laugh at the whole thing. Had she  _known_ Scott had issues with things like that she would have never suggested …

"You've got a little time still," Janet said. "Even if you're not super interested, it's bound to be a one of a kind sort of night, right?"

K tipped her head to the side and considered her. "You're not wrong," she said, before she started toward her bathroom. "And it's been … oh, man. Ages. Since I've been out on a date."

"So you're just long overdue," Janet decided, nodding to herself. "I'll tell you about him when you get out - and I promise not to go crazy with your hair."

* * *

Logan and Steve had taken a break from their planning. New variables were coming in from the military and they were doing all they could to try and predict where they were looking … though the fact that there were small factions popping up in NYC wasn't making Steve feel any better about things - at all.

Nothing seemed to be going they way they wanted it to - and no one was sure what the next spot could possibly be if they weren't sure what these idiots from Canada were up to. It was maddeningly frustrating. For both of them. And when they stepped out of their planning room, Logan had to let out a disbelieving laugh when he saw Stark with a drink in his hand in a suit.

But none of them was expecting to hear the click-clack of high heels as K and Janet made their way down the hall from K's room. Both men turned and stopped as she made her way down the hall, putting in the earrings that Janet was handing her.

The two women were talking between themselves, and neither of them seemed to notice the three men standing near the end of the hall until they were almost to them.

K looked up just as she was finishing up with a swipe of berry-red lipstick and gave the three of them a little smile. "Been waiting long?" she asked, and Tony grinned outright.

"Worth it," he said, looking far too full of himself to be legal. He offered K his arm and she gave Logan a little wink just before she disappeared with Tony.

For a moment, Logan frowned at the closed door, but didn't say anything about it other than to let out a disbelieving huff and head off with Steve. He wasn't going to say anything to Scott about it yet, but he wasn't going to change any plans either. If all the stories were true, even if she ended up screwing around with Stark - she'd be on her way out anyhow. He just didn't  _like_ it. At all.

* * *

Once Tony and K were seated and the car was in motion, it was no time at all before he couldn't help but give her an open once over, which she tactfully ignored, instead, looking out the window to try and see where it was Tony was planning to take her.

"This isn't some elaborate ruse to separate me from my traveling companions, is it?" K asked before she turned to face him.

Tony took half a second to school his features as he leaned toward her. "Really, sweetheart, it's the first date. Let's see where it goes."

K couldn't help but smirk at that. "You're really asking for it," she said, allowing the smirk to stretch into a smile.

"Not yet, no," he replied with a grin.

She returned the smile and reached up to brush a lock of hair out of her face. "One step at a time, Mr. Stark."

"Sometimes I like to do two or three steps at once."

"Not with me you won't," K said, keeping her smirk firmly in place, and getting a grin out of Tony.

He spent the rest of the ride simply smiling her way and admiring the view, and when they finally got to their destination, they didn't get out on the street, instead, pulling into the underground garage and then rushing to the private elevator.

K had no idea what it was he had planned, but she had to take stock of the situation she found herself in when he led her out of the elevator and to a pair of double doors that opened up to show that he'd arranged for dinner at the top floor of his skyscraper.

There was a fire in the corner and a waiter that was just then pouring out the wine, and it was clear that it was just the two of them, along with the gentleman handling the affairs for the evening. Tony led her over to her seat, and held the chair for her until she was seated and simply started chatting without any mention of the salient details.

It wasn't until after they'd had dinner, and she'd gotten a bit comfortable that she even tried to engage in conversation.

"So what was it you were hoping to achieve with all of this?" K asked, keeping her gaze on Tony while her wine glass was refilled.

"Like I said. You needed a chance to get out and relax. Get spoiled. I'm sure your travelling companions haven't been able to do too much of that," Tony said, smirking her way as his wine glass was replaced with a rocks glass and a decanter filled with whiskey was left at the table - a sure sign, K was sure that the two of them were going to be without their waiter in short order.

"I appreciate your concern," K said as she lifted her glass. "But what do you get out of this?"

"Isn't your company enough?" Tony asked, with a troublemaking look.

"Probably not, by your measure," K replied.

"I'm not going to interrogate you," Tony said, before he leaned back and drained the glass in his hand in one go, frowning for a moment at the expression on her face. "Is it that hard to believe I want to spend time with a gorgeous woman?"

"No,  _that_ I can believe," K replied, though she smiled slightly at the complement. "The idea that you could successfully interrogate me is laughable though, Mr. Stark."

"Then why not just take it as it is?" Tony leaned toward her, smiling crookedly. "You and me - out for a laugh. Who knows what might happen?"

She watched him for a moment, and finally, against her better judgement, she nodded and then went with him to enjoy the view.

* * *

The house, however was fairly quiet. There really  _wasn't_ anything to do outside of planning and plotting out their new game plan, but with the third member of their party out with Stark, Logan was having a hard time concentrating on how to move forward.

He knew it wasn't going to be long term even with the best of outcomes for K with Tony, but it didn't make it any easier to come up with a plan.

In fact, he wasn't sure how to look at the woman if she was gonna be screwing around with Stark. Nothing about the situation made it sound like the girl they'd disappeared with. The no-nonsense barista that had given Scott his first job … just flat didn't seem like the type to hop into bed with the billionaire.

He rubbed his hand over his face and then through his hair. Maybe that was what the girl was like. Maybe the personality she was using as a barista was the cover. But … that didn't fit either. The kind of girl that would be mooney eyed for Tony Stark couldn't possibly evade Sabretooth.

Logan was deep in thought when he caught Scott's scent nearby. He guessed that the young man was looking for him - looking out for him, even. "Hey Slim," Logan said softly. "What's on your mind?"

"Just … had to see how you were doing. It's been quiet," Scott said as he stepped into the room. "You know, with K not around … it's not as … um. Lively."

"It won't last long," Logan said, turning Scott's way. The words had slipped by his lips before he'd even had a chance to weigh them out - but it sounded right to him. "I'm not changing our plan unless she says so."

Scott frowned at that, but didn't say anything. He too, had heard things about Stark - it was impossible not to, but that didn't mean that it made any sense at all for K to fall prey to that kind of behavior.

* * *

The fire had died down to embers, and the last of the whiskey was melting the ice cubes in K's glass, slightly out of sight, out of mind as she and Tony were otherwise occupied. A simple kiss had turned into more of a makeout session, and Tony was doing his level best to gain the upper hand.

She hadn't stopped him, and it had gotten heated fast. The height difference was substantial enough though that the whole affair was easier accomplished on the couch, where he'd managed to push her back into the cushions, one hand tangled into her hair and the other at her ribcage.

But it all came to a screeching halt when he slid his hand behind her to work on the zipper to her dress. In a flash, she'd twisted his arm out from behind her and reversed their positions so that he was pressed into the opposite corner of the couch while she pinned him in place. "First date, Mr. Stark," K growled out. "I'm not that easy."

He was grinning in spite of himself. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

"Wanna bet?" she argued, though when she let his hands go, he only pulled her closer for another overly heated kiss that ended a short while later, with K pulling his hands away. "You really need to learn to hear no. Let me make it more clear. Stop or you'll be bleeding."

"So … I screwed myself over huh?" Tony asked, watching closely as K got to her feet.

"No," she said with a little laugh as she straightened herself up. "But I think that's enough for one night- before you push too much."

He thought about it for a moment. "What … about next time?"

"We'll see when next time happens," she replied, already on her way toward the door. " _If_ next time happens."

Tony watched her go for just a moment before he was on his feet and rushing to catch up. "You tacked on that if. And  _still_ , you're going home with me," Tony teased.

"Totally not something I can control," K laughed.

"That's what I'm telling you," Tony said with a grin just before the elevator doors closed behind them. "All of this is beyond our control."

She let out a disbelieving laugh and shoved him a step away. "You're pushing your luck. So much."

"Yeah, but you like it don't you? Just a little bit?" Tony was grinning, and in spite of herself, K couldn't help but shake her head and smile with him, which only seemed to puff him up a bit more."Toldja. Just a matter of time. No reason not to."

* * *

The car ride back seemed to take longer than the ride to get to the tower, and Tony wasn't entirely ready to give up. K was looking out the window at the passing lights when Tony gently reached over and rested his hand just above her knee, though he was watching her out of his peripheral vision as K turned toward him and covered his hand with hers. "Thin ice, Mr. Stark."

He leaned closer and spoke at just over a whisper. "Not going to stop trying. Especially when you call me 'Mr. Stark'. Kinda got a dirty secretary kind of ring to it when you say it. I like it."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and gave him an open once over, totally ignoring his commentary on the name. "I didn't take you for the patient type. And I'm not doing anything to make it sound dirty."

He raised an eyebrow her way. "You don't have to  _do_ anything, it's just your voice. Maybe it's the feral edge coming out, doesn't matter. Totally not the point - and … I can be very patient. For your information."

K tipped her head to the side, openly considering him. "I doubt that. But also … what am I doing that makes 'Mr. Stark' sound dirty?"

He tipped his head to the side, chuckling as he bit his lip. "That. Just that."

K stared back at him with her mouth partly open in pure disbelief. "You're so making it up." But Tony just leaned in a bit and grinned, trying to catch her eye for more than a moment or two, occasionally asking her to say it again, which only had her laughing, though for the rest of the ride, neither of them moved their hands from where Tony had originally started.

Once they were back inside, Tony reached out to take her by the elbow and pull her back to him for a good night kiss. "Go again? I've got plenty of quiet, private spots to keep it low key."

"I'll think about it," K answered. "Ask again some other time, Mr. Stark." When she stepped away from Stark, she looked up in time to see Scott looking out at the entry from where he was seated a room over. K gave him a bright wave and simply headed for her room, ready to change and call it a night.


	38. Territorial Boys

At the moment, K was trying to get herself a cup of coffee and Tony and had just stepped up behind her to lean in over her shoulder. "What's it gonna take to get a second date?" Tony asked quietly.

"Probably something more smooth than the full court press," K said easily, though she leaned back into him for just a moment. "I need time to think about it, Mr. Stark."

"You've had all night," Tony replied. "Alone. Hard to think like that."

She turned to face him and rested one hand on the side of his neck. "Tony. Let me breathe a little."

He gave her a little smile and of course, ignored the request and pulled her a little closer. "Is that your way of saying I'm taking your breath away?"

"No," K laughed before she relented just enough to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I need coffee."

"That has zero effect on your system, little miss advanced healing."

"It makes me feel like I'm a nicer person."

"I'm okay with you being not nice."

"Mr. Stark-" he grinned wider and she shook her head at him. "-alright. One more date."

"Is that your subtle way of admitting I was right?" Tony asked. "I was right - and I can show you a good time without getting you busted."

"I don't know if you got me busted yet."

"I didn't. I'm watching the chatter." He was still grinning crookedly at her.

"Fine … it looks like you might be right. On this. The one time. So I'll … give you another shot. But that's not a guarantee of anything happening but good company.."

He didn't even try to hide his reaction when he pulled her to him and kissed her soundly. "You won't regret it."

"My concern is that you will," K replied before she slipped out of his grip and snatched up her mug. "I'm going to go see the guys. So if you're not going that way …"

"Oh, I am," Tony said, rushing to catch up simply so he could walk into the dining room with his arm around her back and his hand resting at her waist. "Cap."

"Tony," Steve said, then frowned K's way slightly. "K."

"Morning, Steve," K said with a little smile. She started toward the spot Scott usually occupied, and Tony was at least smart enough to simply pull her chair out for her rather than try to redirect her. Of course, he took the seat on her other side, too and kept fairly close as he pulled over the latest reports and started trying to tell K that her best shot was just to stay where she was.

"You know. Where it's safe," Tony said, smiling her way.

Logan had just gotten done with a long, hard run in the gym when he came into the dining room, cleaned up from his run. He paused in the doorway when he saw what was going on, though he was more irritated than anything that it was Stark that was sucking up K's time.

"Good morning, Logan," K said with a genuine smile his way as soon as she saw him.

Logan of course let out a little sound but didn't speak, though that only had K smirking into her coffee mug. It wasn't really until then that she realized how much the two of them didn't like her dating Stark. Which really only cemented her decision. Of course … before she followed through, it wouldn't hurt anyone to watch how the two men were going to react.

K ignored the way the three men were all pointedly trying to ignore each other, shaking her head to herself at their whole … territorial nonsense.

Scott came in a short while later, already trying to make a morning routine he could rely on, and when he saw how Tony was leaning close to K, he frowned to himself and simply took his seat.

And when it was clear that still, no one was going to be doing any talking, K pushed back from the table. "Well … I guess I'll go find some peace and quiet away from all of this incessant chatter," she said under her breath. Tony stood up to follow and she held up a hand his way. "I never said 'when', Mr. Stark. A girl needs time to herself."

Tony watched her go with a grin while the other three half-glared his way. "What are you doing, Tony?" Steve said in a dull tone. "She's not like your usual … tastes."

"Which is what makes her perfect," Tony said frankly as he moved to sit closer to Steve and Logan.

"You're going to chase her off," Steve said - and it was easy enough to hear the edge to his tone. "Or is that your plan? Screw around until they need to run?"

"I …" Tony looked insulted as he rested one hand over his heart. "I … have no intentions of seeing her leave… before she's ready."

Steve frowned as Logan growled low and soft enough to honestly rattle the room. "So you're trying to snipe their third?" Steve asked, looking as if it was the most underhanded thing he'd ever heard.

"Well when you put it like that, it sounds bad." Tony frowned and tried to get Steve to see his viewpoint. "I honestly  _like_ her. Not … not a one night stand kind of thing either. Though I wouldn't say no."

Steve seemed to consider him at that and let out a breath. It was pretty well known that even though Tony had a reputation for picking up women on the short term, he had also gone through a long string of serious relationships. At least as serious as he could muster. It was especially unfortunate, when it had turned out that most, if not all of those relationships had been subversive attempts at his fortune, or his company.

"Besides, we've only been on one date," Tony said, frowning Steve's way. "I'm not that easy to fall head over heels." He was scoffing, but Steve had to laugh.

"Tony, you have a type," Steve said frankly. "And that girl - she could nuke you and you wouldn't ever see it coming."

"Wait. How did this somehow go from me and my 'foul intentions' to her destroying me?"

Steve let out a hollow laugh. "God, you're an idiot." He shook his head and turned to Logan and Scott. "If you're up for it - let's go peek in on what Agents Quartermain and Coulson have found. As I understand it, they're the ones working hard to get the  _three_ of you settled in somewhere safe."

Logan shook his head as he got to his feet. "No rush, Scotty. Take your time."

"No, I'd rather go with you," Scott said, moving quickly to join them as they headed off to talk to Quartermain and Coulson.

* * *

K hadn't gotten too far from the dining room before Janet caught up with her, biting her lip lightly as she fell into step next to her. "So. How was the date?" Janet asked, smelling and looking a bit anxious.

"It was  _fine_ ," K answered. "Nothing happened - if you're worried. And you smell worried, Janet. Relax."

"It's just … Scott and Logan …"

"I'm not ditching them if they're not ditching me," K said in a more firm tone. "And even if they want to ditch, I'm not sticking around Stark."

Janet stopped in her tracks and frowned as K continued to walk, but recovered quickly. She was in a determined march to catch up with a frown on her features that simply wasn't normal on her. "Hey, wait. If they were to ditch, which I'm not saying they would - why  _not_ Tony?"

K let out a little laugh and tipped her head toward her room for Janet to follow. "He's incredibly sweet. More than I think most people realize, but … he draws down way too much attention for me to not draw in the wrong crowd."

Janet frowned at that and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly working it over in her mind. "But … there is no safer place …"

"I'm sorry," K said turning to face her head on. "We're here in this hidden place because what … exactly? I thought he was usually camped out at the Avenger's place …"

"Yeah, okay, but that wasn't the Department."

"Which is just proof. The people after me could eat the people after him for lunch. It's not smart," K said with a little smirk. "Don't worry. I'm going to tell him when we go out. I'll let him down easy."

"Tony doesn't really … let down easy very well."

"You're not giving him enough credit," K replied. "Now. Did you want to help me find something to wear that doesn't look like you're serving me on a silver platter this time, or are you going to make this harder on me?"

"Yeah, okay," Janet said with a little shrug. "I just was going by the usual .."

K shook her head at her. "Yeah, don't do that. Please."

Janet perked right up and drew an 'x' over her chest. "Cross my heart. We can dress you up and not make you into one of  _those_ girls."

* * *

Logan wasn't exactly pleased with the latest intel, and he was determined to make a plan on where to go next. He didn't like anything that was going on, and he wasn't real thrilled with Stark's outlook.

He  _still_ didn't think that K would be distracted by Tony for long, but …

Logan narrowed his eyes at the intel coming in and started thinking about how to approach if they did manage to lose K to the idiotic billionaire. Hiding would be harder. Travel harder. "Damnit," he grumbled under his breath between clenched teeth.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked, staring at Logan openly from the doorway. Scott had been listening to Coulson talk about a few options that he'd been working on - fabricating, really, which was apparently what he'd done for K before to set her up in Oregon. But now, Scott was paying closer attention to Logan instead.

Logan glanced up and met his gaze for a moment. "Spot I was thinking of has activity," Logan said before he looked back to the map and glared at it. "Gotta keep looking." He let out a breath but didn't look up again. "I'll find something good. Don't worry."

"Has K helped you look yet?"

"No."

Scott frowned a bit deeper at that and stepped closer to see what Logan was up to. Reports were laid out across the table and it was clear that everything along the northern border was saturated with sightings of Department people. He quickly realized that every spot that he'd stayed with Logan had a heavier concentration, too. "Are those … all places you used?"

Logan frowned and nodded. "Those are a lot of the places I stayed in the past couple years, yeah." He reached over and tapped a spot in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. "Except there. That's not me."

Scott held his breath for a moment. "Then they're probably hunting her now too."

"Or … they think I was there," Logan said. "Have to ask her if she spent any time in Wyoming."

The two of them looked over the maps for a long moment before Logan nodded to himself and simply headed down the hall to talk to her with Scott following in his wake. When they got down to K's room, Janet was still there chatting and asking her about color preferences.

"Got a minute?" Logan asked and to his relief, she smiled crookedly and waved them in.

"Thanks, Jan - whatever you think is best, I'm sure it'll be fine," K said as she got to her feet. She watched as Janet skirted by Logan and Scott. "I was starting to wonder if you two were going to talk to me again."

Logan ignored her comment and dove right into the heart of the matter. "I'm going through the new intel, looking for a path. They've got an established presence in just about every spot I've stopped at in the last five or six years …"

"Why? You weren't going to go back to them, were you?" K asked with a frown before she sat down on the bed again and patted it for them to join her, which Logan frowned at the action, but ultimately headed her way.

"No," Logan said, shaking his head as he sat down near her. "But they're staking out just the same. And I'm wondering if they're doing the same with you. They have a presence in a little berg in the middle of Wyoming that I know I haven't been to."

K frowned and shook her head lightly. "No … I didn't stay in Wyoming," she said with her eyes narrowed. "Could it be something else?"

Logan shrugged. "Who knows. I'll run it by Cap and let you know." He shifted to get to his feet and she reached out and laid a hand on his forearm.

"Hey," K said, almost frowning at him. "I can help too, you know. I have nothing else to do and I'm getting a little stir crazy already."

"You know you're welcome to look through things with me," Logan said with a frown. "Unless you can think of something better to do."

"She could get those last few slugs out," Scott said from where he was leaning against the dresser with his arms crossed. "You never did let the medical personnel get them out, and you said they were bugging you."

K turned toward Logan with an open look of shock. "I missed some?"

Logan shrugged. "Bound to happen."

She let out a little noise and got up - only to push Logan back flat on the bed. "You could have told me." She pointed a finger his way. "Don't move. I'm going to fix you up, big guy."

"I'll … get the first aid supplies," Scott offered, rushing out the door to grab whatever K might need.

"Logan," K said as she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned his way.

"You were busy," he defended.

"I was  _not._ " K shook her head at him. "Get comfortable. Where are they?"

Logan scooted further up on the bed and pointed out the spots where it was still sore. "They're moving closer to the surface, but still hurts."

"Like it's going to get any better on its own," she said as she knelt down next to him. "How do you want me to do this? Your call."

"You can feel 'em through the skin," Logan said. "One at the hip. Two in the shoulder. I'd cut 'em out myself but I can't reach it right -"

"- and you don't trust Stark's staff," K finished, nodding. "You should have told me sooner. I'll take care of it. Take your shirt off. I'll fix this as quick as I can."

Logan sat up long enough to do as she asked, and as soon as he got halfway comfortable, she couldn't help but tease lightly. "If you want my attention, you don't need to resort to asking me to cut you open."

"Sweetheart, I got better ways to get your attention."

"Uh-huh," K said, smiling still as Scott came back with the first aid kit. "Prove it." Logan blinked a couple of times then let out a scoffing sort of a chuckle.

"I know most of this isn't going to help, but it should at least take care of the blood," Scott said as he handed the kit to K.

"Thank you, Caramel Mocha," K told him with a smile as she laid out some gauze and found a scalpel. "I've got it from here, Scott. Close the door on your way out." She turned her attention to Logan at that. "Do I need to hold you down?"

Logan's eyebrows went up for just a moment. "We'll see."

K held her breath and watched his face as she found the lump under his skin near his hip first. "Tell me when," K said, holding the scalpel ready, though even when she waited for his word, it was clear Logan was barely restraining himself as she dug out the first one - she worked quickly enough, but still. "Okay, yeah … this isn't going to work well … hold on."

She cleaned up the skin - that was already sealing itself shut then gestured for him to move more to the middle of the bed. "Alright. I'm going to pin you. I know you're stronger, so just … try to remember this was your idea."

Logan had to smirk at that, but went along with it as she climbed over him and pinned his arms with her knees. " _This_  was  _my_ idea?" Logan asked with a crooked smile.

"Yes. Yes it was," K said with a nod and a smirk of her own as she looked for the two that were closely set in his shoulder near the joint. "This one will be worse," she said, though this time she didn't warn him before she started cutting and he swore outright at the start.

"Woah, easy, easy," K muttered, working quickly. "Not trying to hurt you."

"I know," Logan said with his eyes shut tightly.

She got them out fast, and when she had both of them, she grabbed another bit of gauze from the stack Scott had brought then quickly started to clean him up. "Got 'em both." K was biting her lip as she finished up though she wasn't rushing like she'd been doing before.

She had more or less finished, but hadn't yet moved from where she was perched over him, and when he realized it, Logan couldn't help but smirk up at her. "Comfy?"

K paused then took a moment to watch him, resting one hand on his stomach. "Very."

But that only got a little laugh out of him, and a moment later she leaned forward to undo the pin she had him in. "You're free to go," K told him before he flipped her over and pinned her.

"Good to know, but I'm not going anywhere yet," Logan said low and quiet enough that no one else could have caught it had they been in the room with the two of them.

"Need a plan first, right?" K replied just as low.

"And you an' Scott. Not what I meant though."

She looked taken off guard for just a moment but smirked back at him. "I wasn't aware the travel situation was up for discussion still."

"It's not," Logan agreed with a little smile before he let her out of the pin and offered her a hand up. "And it's not gonna be. So come on. Quit screwin' around and take a look at what we've got."

"You got it," K replied, quick to follow, though she was a bit slow in handing his shirt back to him. "What have you got so far?" she asked as they stepped out of her room and headed toward where Steve was still working.

"Few leads, mostly a mess though," he admitted. "We'll figure it out, I'm sure."

She nodded and gave him a little smile. "I've been thinking about it … and I'm not adverse to leaving the country for a while if it helps."

He had to smile a little wider at that as he pulled the shirt back on. "Good. We'd have to rely on SHIELD to move us if that's the case though."

The pair of them met Scott halfway back toward where Coulson and Quartermain were laying out their best recommendations. Both of them had their own thoughts on what to do and where to go, and Logan wasn't expecting Coulson to have such a detailed  _possibility_ in place should they choose to take that route.

"It's a little beyond the reach of the department, and a little bit … closer to where they are looking for Logan and Scott," Coulson said as he laid out one of his options. "It's closer to the northern border, but the fact is, they're pushing further to the center of the country and I know we can get you past them and into place."

"Not sure I'm game to be that close yet," K said as she came to stand next to him. "Wisconsin, huh? You really do have a soft spot don't you?"

"We were already in Wisconsin for a while," Logan said as he looked over Quartermain's pick, which conveniently was close to where he'd gone to college. "This one's a little too close to Nebraska for my liking."

"Kentucky's out," Quartermain said. "It was a great area to aim for with lots of places to hide in the mountains but … it was almost too perfect. Your creepy stalker has been spotted in the vicinity of Cade's cove … which …"

"Is kinda where we were aiming for in a roundabout way," K finished. "That's perfect." She leaned back to stand up straight and put her hands on her hips, tapping her fingers as she looked at the map. "We could say to hell with it and go to South Beach."

"I somehow doubt that drinking on the beach is an adequate cover," Coulson said with a smirk.

"You sure?" K asked. "You can go too. I'll make you a mojito."

Coulson smirked a little wider. "Maybe next time."

As the adults seemed to be getting along swimmingly, Scott slowly backed out of the discussion. He hadn't said a word to anyone, but since their arrival, the headache that had been coming and going was most definitely staying.

It wasn't quite like before - just behind his eyes and at the back of his head. Now it was just … it seemed to be everywhere. And the pressure points weren't doing anything for him at all. He was rubbing one eye with the heel of his palm, just putting steady pressure on it as he worked his way back to his room. He needed a little privacy. And some time alone.

He thought he'd closed the door behind him, though by the time he got to his room, he was moving pretty fast, and as he passed through the room, he knew something was going to happen. He just wasn't sure  _what_. He stepped out onto the balcony and rested both hands on the railing, his glasses in one hand and his eyes shut tight as he kept repeating to himself over and over 'please stop'.

After a long moment, he thought that the headache was ebbing slightly, and he put the glasses back on before he opened his eyes - though he frowned when he realized that even his peripheral vision was tinted red.

He didn't hear someone walking up behind him. And he truly thought he was alone as he looked for a spot somewhat close to the grounds that he could focus on to calm himself down. He had his hand on the side of his glasses, more as an assurance that they were there and working when Steve cleared his throat and startled Scott just enough to dislodge the glasses from where they were properly seated on the bridge of his nose.

And just like that - as Scott startled and turned slightly toward Steve, that little jerk on the glasses let  _out_ the red beam and obliterated several trees and what looked to be a rather expensive sports car. He got the glasses back on, and covered his eyes with his hands just to be sure, but all Scott could think in that moment was just 'oh crap', though all that came out was a string of apologies while Scott blindly tried to get away from the balcony and make himself smaller.

"Are you alright?" Steve said in an almost awed tone as he slowly walked toward Scott.

"I'm sorry - I didn't mean to - I'm fine."

Steve looked toward the wreckage and shook his head. "Are you sure?" He gestured toward the smoking trees and tried not to smile at it. "No one was hurt."

"Oh good," Scott said, honestly relieved, though he kept his eyes shut just in case.

Steve let out a breath of a laugh when the car blew up a short moment later and was sure to put his hands on both of Scott's shoulders. "How about we get you inside?"

Scott nodded quickly at that. "I didn't mean to hit that car," he said.

"It's fine," Steve said in a reassuring tone. "It was Tony's."

Scott nodded, but he wasn't sure he felt much better, even after he peeked open one eye and was relieved that the glasses seemed to be keeping it in. Though by that point, he was practically holding them to his face, worried that the  _whatever_ it was that blasted people and things would leak out the sides.

Steve frowned slightly. "Is that … is that normal for you?" He gestured to Scott's glasses. "The glow, I mean."

"It's not gone?" Scott asked, his eyes widening behind the glasses.

Steve shook his head lightly. "Do you want me to get Logan for you?"

Scott thought about it for a second and then shook his head. "I should go to him," he said. "That - I probably just blew our cover," he added, a little quieter.

Steve held his breath for a moment and nodded in understanding. "Of course. This … is one of the top weapons designers in the world. He has a habit of blowing up stuff he shouldn't … maybe not." But he kept one hand on Scott's shoulder all the same as the two of them headed down the hall.

Of course, when they got to where they'd been looking over maps, Logan and K were both looking out the window at the burning car, watching the staff scramble to put it out, and simply sipping coffee.

Scott winced a bit when he saw that they already knew and paused in the doorway before he blurted out, "It was an accident."

K smiled his way, and Logan was absolutely smirking as they turned to look at him. "Okay, we'll go with that then," Logan said with a laugh.

"It  _was_."

"Still, it was a  _great shot,_ " K agreed. "You made Coulson glad he parks behind the place."

Scott looked between the two of them, clearly surprised by how well they were taking it. "We… should probably get moving then, huh?"

"I'm working out the final details on sending you three overseas for a short while," Coulson said as he looked up, also smirking crookedly. "Tragic accident."

Scott crossed his arms. Even if he didn't like Tony, he didn't want to get blamed for something he didn't do on purpose. "It. Was."

"No one is arguing that," Logan promised. "I just like the story better if it wasn't."

Scott let out a breath and shook his head. "Well, it was."

"I know," Logan said, looking perfectly serious, even if it was clear he was still  _highly_ amused.

When Tony came in a short while later, looking completely taken off guard, he looked around the room at the group of them for a long moment. "What the hell was that?"

"God. Paying you back," K said straight faced as she kept working with Coulson. "You need to buy yourself some limits, Tony."

"You're not funny," Tony said, pointing a finger her way. "And I'm serious. What the hell was that?"

Scott cleared his throat for a moment. "Me."

Tony spun to face him and narrowed his eyes for a moment and gestured to him with one hand as he walked toward him. "What's with the glow?" He tipped his head to the side, outright studying him. "How'd you do that?"

"It was an accident," Scott said firmly, though he was unconsciously squaring up under Tony's gaze.

Tony was nodding instantly, eyes closed, clearly more irritated that his question wasn't answered. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I dont' care. How did you do that?"

"I don't really know," Scott admitted. "It just happens." He gestured to his glasses but didn't tap them for fear of moving them again. "I think it's still happening, if it's glowing."

Tony tipped his head to the side again, watching him. "Okay. We need a little road trip."

"Forget it," Logan growled out.

"I just … I just want to give him a chance to blow things up in a more safe environment," Tony defended, clearly looking at Logan as if he was entirely unreasonable.

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "Your idea of secured and mine are two different things."

"Ooh, and … he's forgetting that his secured firing ranges are all on military complexes," K said without looking up from the screen she was sharing with Coulson, who was nodding along.

Tony spun her way before he even thought about it and did a solid double take watchin her. "Um. Excuse me. Agent - are you feeding her intel?" Tony asked, looking completely off his guard.

"No," Coulson said before he smiled Tony's way as pleasantly as he was able. "She already knew."

K reined in the smirk as she got to her feet and pointed to something on the screen. "Run those two by Logan and Scott, please." She looked up at Tony. "Our timeline is short. I guess if you're still interested, I'll see you at seven-ish? Unless … you don't have a car to work with."

Tony stared back at her for a long moment at a complete loss of words, while Logan tipped his chin to his chest trying not to laugh outright.

K didn't wait for an answer before she headed for the door, sure to give Scott's arm a little squeeze. "Don't go anywhere with anyone but Logan."

"I won't," he promised. "Unless it's you."

She smiled his way and kissed his cheek. "You're a good boy." She dropped her voice down to a whisper. "And an accidentally excellent shot."

"Logan, Scott," Coulson said, totally ignoring the expression on Tony's face as he simply stared around the room, swore and then tried to catch up to K with a shouted out 'wait a minute!'. "You have a couple of options. Short term, of course. But it'd be a jump in the wrong direction while we prep a new spot for more long term arrangements."

The two of them made their way over to Coulson, and what he had up on screen was a spot on the coast in South Carolina and a spot just outside of Chicago. "She's leaving it to you two, but they're both good spots to stay for a few weeks."

Logan turned to Scott and tipped his chin up. "Your call this time. I'm working on the longer term one."

Scott looked surprised before he looked at the two spots Coulson was pointing out. "Well," he said slowly. "Chicago is further north, but I like the fact that it's not on the coast, so we can go in any direction."

"You'll still have coastline," Coulson said. "The spot I have set aside is on the Lake."

Scott frowned at that and shook his head. "Then South Carolina would be better. That many people …"

He nodded at that. "I completely understand," Coulson said. "At least until you get a better handle on everything." He looked between Scott and Logan. "But for the record, we do have an underground facility if you want to attempt to learn how to control … that."

Scott looked toward Logan. "I'm… not so sure," he said slowly.

Coulson smirked a little wider and nodded. "Quartermain had said you might not want to try it, and K never would follow me underground."

"It just doesn't seem like something we could get  _out_ of," Scott told him frankly, crossing his arms as he frowned over it. "No offense."

"None taken," Coulson assured him. "I'll get things finalized for South Carolina right now."

Scott nodded and took a step toward Logan. "So when are we leaving?"

"Probably after K gets done informing Stark of how the world works," Logan said under his breath.

Scott nodded. "I'll start packing, then."


	39. Time's Up, Stark

Scott was done packing and headed for the kitchen when he heard a new voice talking to Jarvis near the front of the mansion, and he paused, half afraid of who might be coming to call after the incident earlier.

He didn't get far, before Logan stepped out of the planning room and gave him a little look that clearly conveyed that he was ready to ditch out if need be. Logan had his hands in fists, and Scott could clearly see the dark red bruising at his knuckles that tipped him off that he was ready to slice someone if need be.

Logan stalked toward the new voice as Steve got there first to play interference. He was the first line at this point anyhow. He was the right face to be around for anyone that might come to call, and he was pretty protective of Scott, moreso after he saw what the kid was capable of.

But as Logan listened, he found himself frowning deeper. The newcomer wasn't familiar at all, and he was addressing Steve in far too formal a manner for it to be someone he  _knew._  He turned toward Scott with a frown and lightly shook his head as he kept walking forward. He wasn't expecting a sedate looking older gentleman in a wheelchair. Particularly since everyone in the room seemed to be positively enchanted by the stranger. It had his hackles up, and he flat didn't like it.

But when the guy looked up at him with a warm smile, Logan didn't even bother trying to stop the growl. "What do you want?"

The stranger kept his smile even and though Logan was sure the whole situation was sketchy, the guy didn't seem like he was with the Department. "My name is Charles Xavier," he said with a calming tone. "I'm starting a school upstate for gifted individuals."

"Congratulations," Logan said flatly. "What do you want?"

He let out a breath at that and tipped his head down, only losing some of the smile. "Your son will need to find a way to hone his abilities. That's what my school is for."

"Who's it for?"

"The children of course," Xavier said, frowning slightly ,but Logan was already shaking his head.

"Not buyin' it. He's learning on his own."

"He may need the extra help," Xavier said in a much more concerned tone. "I know you've seen the darker side of humanity, but that's no reason …"

He stopped short when Logan let his growl drop lower. "It's every reason."

But while Logan was glaring hard at Xavier, the gentleman reached out to Scott telepathically.  _I know you two have had some struggles. But I'm sure that I can help you to control your optic blasts._

Scott startled from where he was hanging back in the hallway and glanced around before he said in a whisper, "How are you doing that?"

_I'm a telepath, Scott. I can send my thoughts to you, and hear yours in return._

Scott frowned a bit at that before he tried to test it out.  _If that's true, then you know I'm not going to go to any facility._

_It's not a facility, it's a school. I'm not working for anyone but my students. There are too many young mutants that have no idea how to control their abilities. And I want to help them learn before someone comes along to take advantage - like they had done to your father._

Scott had almost unconsciously reached up to touch his glasses as he listened before he frowned a bit to himself.  _So you know how to turn off this glow?_

_Everyone's abilities are different. But I can help to guide you so you can control it. Take your time, think it over. But I am certain I can help._

_And what if I say no?_ Scott asked.

There was a clear pause, and Scott could hear the sigh from the next room over.  _Then all I can do is make sure you know my door is always open if you change your mind._

Scott frowned as he thought it over. He didn't exactly trust any offer that sounded official after what he'd seen with Logan and K, but… it  _sounded_ very different to what those two had seen. He shook his head to himself and then straightened up.  _I'll… think about it,_ he said at last, half as a test because he wanted to see if this guy was going to stay true to his word and  _not_ come after them, and half because he actually was intrigued by the idea and wasn't sure how to move forward with it.

"I'll leave my card with Captain Rogers then," Xavier said, though the statement had Logan frowning deeper as Xavier did just that. "Should you change your mind."

He was polite on his way out, and Janet walked alongside him all the way out the door, cheerfully chatting with him. Logan turned to Scott. "What did he say to you? I know a telepathic conversation when I see one."

Scott looked surprised, but he wasn't going to deny it either. "He said he wanted to help," he explained. "And that he's not working for anyone - just… trying to teach kids like me." He frowned as Logan watched him. "I told him I'd think about it."

Logan tipped his chin up slightly, frowning deeper. "Telepaths are tricky."

"If he comes back, we know he won't listen to a 'no'," Scott reasoned.

Logan gestured to where Steve was frowning at the business card in his hand. "Do you think they would have let him in if he didn't tweak something?"

Scott frowned at that. "I don't know - I didn't think about that. I've never met a telepath."

Logan let out a breath at that. "We should tell K to get it in gear. I don't think he was lying about not working for anyone, but I don't know that he doesn't have his own agenda."

Scott nodded, though he did look past Logan to where Steve was still frowning at the card. "I think we should still take the card," he said slowly, then quickly held up one hand. "Just in case." He tapped his temple above where his glasses were. "If nothing else, if there are other kids like me…"

Logan watched him for a long moment. "If it comes down to that, you're not going alone. I'm not dropping you off with some … no."

"I already told K that I'm not going anywhere without you or her," Scott promised. "But I don't think it's a good idea to ignore it - even if it's bad, we should keep an eye on it, right?"

Logan smirked a little at that. "Agreed. Might need to spring you some company."

Scott rubbed the back of his neck at that and then shrugged. "So, I, uh, I guess we should tell K her date's cancelled and we have to go now?" he said with a little smile. "Oh no."

Logan smiled outright. "You wanna be the bearer of bad news?"

"Probably should be you - since I already wrecked his car," Scott pointed out.

"Oh yeah, that'll work," Logan said sarcastically.

"I could go with you?"

Logan shrugged. "Still think she's got us outnumbered, but sure. We can try." The two of them headed down to K's room, and when they got there, she was just putting the final touches on her makeup.

"Hi guys," K said, adjusting her eyeliner just a bit. "What's going on? I'm about …" she turned to check the clock. "... ten minutes behind. Is Tony throwing a fit yet?"

"Not yet, no," Logan said as he crossed the room and took a seat on her bed. "We're looking at stepping up our exit."

K turned to look at him and smiled lightly. "Something come up, or is this the official intervention, because I promise. I have this covered."

"Someone came over," Scott explained, one hand in the pocket where the business card was. "To talk to me."

"Do you want me to stab them?" she asked brightly.

"No," Scott said, shaking his head. "He left. And it wasn't … he wanted to know if I was interested in going to school to learn how to… fix  _this_ , I guess," he said, tapping his glasses, since there was no reason to hold anything back with her.

"Your face is adorable. Nothing to fix there."

"I meant the glow. It hasn't stopped," Scott pointed out.

She nodded at that. "Alright. But … I still need to deal with Tony. Trust me on this. If I don't it's going to be a lot worse." She turned back to the mirror and finished her eyes up quickly then put on a quick swipe of lipstick. "I'm already packed to go. But we don't want Mr. Stark pining." She got up quickly and smoothed out her dress. "It would be bad for all of us. Best to crush him now."

K gave them both a little smile and started down the hall. "If you want to camp in my room though, I won't complain." She left the two of them in her room without so much as a backward glance and silently made her way over to where Tony was waiting.

"Do you have a driver, or … oh. I'm sure you do," she had to tease. "You need room to destress, don't you?"

"Yeah, we can call it that, sure," Tony said, though he was already a bit guarded from K's earlier comment on his shooting ranges. He waited until they were seated in the back of the car before he leaned in a little closer, though for the first time, he looked more focused and curious on what she knew instead of what he could get away with. "How did you know about my shooting ranges?"

"Couple things," K said with a little nod. "For one - it's public knowledge that you're  _the_ main supplier to the US Government for their cutting edge weapons, so it would make sense that your best ranges would be approved by them, first and foremost."

Tony's suspicions slipped only a bit as he nodded. She wasn't wrong. "And the other?"

She turned his way with a trouble making smile and leaned forward like she was going to kiss him, diverting at the last moment to whisper in his ear. "I've read your dossier. I know everything." She couldn't help but smile to herself at the pure shock that was rolling off of him, and she had to go there - sure to kiss his cheek before she sat back in her seat.

It took a few minutes for him to recover, and he was staring at her openly. "That … you got that from Coulson." She shook her head lightly. "Quartermain? Had to be someone - Jan. Come on."

"No, Mr. Stark, no one here gave up anything on you," K promised.

He let out a disbelieving laugh. "I couldn't find  _jack_ on you and you somehow ended up … a  _dossier?_ I don't have a dossier!"

"Don't kid yourself," K said. "Top weapons designer? You absolutely have one. In pretty much every country in the world. You are watched, Mr. Stark." She shifted how she was seated so she could face him more comfortably. "But clearly. If I wanted to take advantage of you -  _I would have._ "

"I … disagree," Tony said, tipping his chin up, though when she raised an eyebrow at him, he told the driver to just keep going.

"How many of the girls you've fallen for have been spies - either actual or corporate?" K asked, watching him to see if he even knew the answer.

"That … isn't …"

"I know the list, if you want me to start naming names -"

"No, no … no that's … damnit." Tony shook his head and looked put out as he finally kept to his own seat. "Figures. Another spy."

"No," she said as she reached over and grabbed his hand. "No. I was an assassin. Be happy we didn't meet." She gave him a little smile at that. "But you need to watch your back. Someone is going to take advantage of that big heart of yours."

"You know the assassin thing isn't even a deal breaker," Tony said, turning back her way.

"I know. Or you would have taken us back already - instead of continuing on to whatever it is you have planned."

"Why should I believe you?" he asked.

"Because I'll tell you who's after you, and how they're going to attack. As a parting gift."

"I'd rather have something else."

"I know," she agreed. "I'd rather give you something else."

The car was silent for a long stretch as Tony weighed it out. "So if you're not after my designs or my money, and you're not out to kill me … and you'd  _rather_ give me something  _else_ ," Tony couldn't help but smile wider. "What is it you  _are_ after?"

"Kinda narrows it down when you put it like that," K said, grinning to match.

He gave her a falsely scandalized look and made his way closer. "I think you should go after it then. You know. Just to see what happens."

"We should probably get dinner first," she replied, covering his hand when again, he rested it just over her knee. "And see where it goes from there."

* * *

In spite of the fact that K said she wasn't going to spend much time with Tony, the two of them still came in late, laughing and clearly having had a good time.

Tony had his arm around her, and she didn't look like she was inclined to stop him when he leaned over and landed a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "Alright, that's enough for you," K was saying with a little laugh when she tried to redirect him and head down the hall herself. "You need to go to bed." She paused when she saw the grin and rested one hand in the center of his chest, gently covering the little blue light there. "In your own bed. Not mine." K was absolutely entertained, and Tony wasn't kidding about her intel not being a deal breaker.

"Come on, sweetheart, you're leaving in the morning ... "

She had to laugh - it was worlds better than getting mad at him. "You're relentless," K said, shaking her head at him.

But his attempts at a last ditch good time just weren't meant to work out. "Tony," K said, finally getting him to stop long enough to really pay attention. "I am  _not_. That. Easy."

"Oh, come on," he said, staring back in a bit of disbelief, but K answered him with a smile and a quick kiss.

"Two dates? Really? No," she answered with a little laugh. "But I tell you what - with the trouble these two get into, if the next time we cross paths you haven't finally admitted that you're head over heels for  _that little redhead,_ " she gave him a meaningful look. "And if I'm not attached … maybe I'll get a little easier."

"So, by their measure of trouble, I should see you in a few weeks, right? Standing agreement."

"Sure Tony, we'll see how it goes," K laughed before she pushed open her door. "Good night." She barely got into the room before she realized that Logan and Scott were actually camped out - and waiting to go.

"Ready when you are," Logan said, though Scott was frowning at her.

"Great - let me take a quick shower - grab some jeans…" K started to drift off and she realized Scott had that sour look on his face. "Oh come on. I had to do this. I had to  _try_ to let him down easy."

"Did it work?" Logan asked, just as he handed her a change of clothes - already starting to pack up for her.

She tipped her head to the side and considered him. "Jury's out. What I told him wasn't enough to dissuade him. He's … kind of hopeless, I think." K shrugged up to her ears and let out a sigh. "I need fifteen minutes. Thank you for waiting for me."

"Already told you we weren't leavin' without you," Logan said, still stuffing things into a bag for her.

* * *

The little trio slipped out under cover of darkness - though they kept the same communications lines open as before. Panic buttons for each of them - and a new mode of transportation that they didn't step toward until they had changed escorts and vehicles three times.

Coulson and Quartermain had been their guys to get them out, and when they finally got to the drop off point, the two Agents looked almost reluctant to see them go.

"Make sure you reach out if you need anything," Coulson told K quietly, apart from the others.

"Will do," K promised before she gave his arm a little squeeze. "Thanks, Phil. You're the best." She smiled his way and then turned slightly to wink at Quartermain. "And you're growing on me. Hope to not see you soon."

Quartermain smiled crookedly and nodded his head. "Yeah, keep those two out of trouble if you can. You know how they are."

The three fugitives headed out in a newer crew-cab pickup truck - much nicer than any of their most recent rides, and the two Agents waited to hear from the eye in the sky that all was clear before they moved on.

"How do you know her again?" Quartermain asked as the two of them headed back to their panel van.

"Know who?" Coulson asked, perfectly straight faced, and sure to hold his gaze for a long moment.

Clay finally let out a little laugh. "Oh. No one," he said before turning to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends THIS Volume … things were getting a little long, and I need to break it up, kids. Look for More in “The Rise of Cyclops - 907”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [What if... Wolverine Visits the Circus](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12365160) by [dragonwriter88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwriter88/pseuds/dragonwriter88)




End file.
